


Capturing Heart and Body

by EmternalSummers



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 乐华七子NEXT | NEX7, 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Based on that one video of Ting, First fan fiction on here, I blame twitter for this, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Most of the pairings, Not Beta'd, Occasional other boys, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Suffering Boys, Tags May Change, Zhengting has problems, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2019-12-26 13:18:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 59,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18283085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmternalSummers/pseuds/EmternalSummers
Summary: Zhu Zhengting spent his life raising Minghao after their parents died during an attack by humans. One day, Minghao goes missing and Zhengting swears on his life to bring him back. Yet, a problem was thrown into his plans after he meets Bi Wenjun, the one human who may just shake up Zhengting's life even more. Everything Zhengting knows shatters beneath him and now he must build himself back up, otherwise both his heart and body will be captured by those humans he hates so much.





	1. Attention

_He would never forget the screams. From the surface came the harpoons, sharpened to a point with barbs along the edge. They seemed to be never ending as one came down after the other, staining the water red with blood. Clutching a small child to his chest, the young merman used his other hand to reach out towards his parents, their final screams of pain echoing through his head as someone else dragged them away. In his arms, the child began to cry, pressing himself to the chest of the elder. In front of them, the two adults let out their final screams, bodies going limp as the red flowed out of them and into the ocean._

_Zhengting turned his head away from the gruesome scene above them, following the mad rush of others who were fleeing the scene. Around them, others were screaming in pain, but he tried his best to ignore it all. Pulling the younger one close, he whispered softly under the screams of others._

_“I will always protect you…”_

"Ting… Hey, Zhengting… Zhengting!” With a small jump, Zhengting’s eyes shot open to see the face of the child from his dream above him. Though, this time he was much more mature and had grown to be much bigger. With a groan, Zhengting softly laid back down on his pillow, covering his eyes.

“Minghao, I told you I didn’t need to be woken up this morning…” He peaked open one eye to see the younger merman form a small pout on his lips, looking indignant.

“Well, you woke me up! It sounded like you were having a nightmare again, and I couldn’t fall back asleep, so here we are!” Minghao added the last part with a small huff, bubbles floating out of his mouth.

Zhengting, still groggy from the cobwebs of nightmares that lingered in his mind, made an effort to get up, grunting at the effort. His light purple tail shimmered in the early morning light that streamed through their windows, noting it was most likely time for him to get up anyway. Running a hand through messy brunette hair, Zhengting got up and followed Minghao up into the small kitchen.

The house they shared wasn’t much. Their beds were in the front room by the door, kitchen behind that, and bathroom off to the side. Then again, nothing in their part of the city was much besides the castle in the center. If anything, the boys were lucky to have a home at all. After the raid on their small village nearly ten years ago, the survivors had fled to the capital city, looking for shelter that could be offered. In return, they were allowed to live along the outskirts, as the city was full enough in it of itself. Zhengting was grateful for the house, even if he did want to kill Minghao sometimes. But at the end of the day, the elder merman was always thankful for the presence of the younger one.

Getting himself some small fish, Minghao looked up at Zhengting, who immediately went into the bathroom to prep himself for the day. “Ting, are you still on a diet?”

With an annoyed flick of his tail, Zhengting nodded. “I gained too much weight after the last show, so I need to work it off now. I’ll just have something later.”

Minghao bit his tongue in response, letting the older boy do as he pleased, but was still worried. Instead of pressing, he attempted to change the topic. “So, how’s stuff going with Prince Xukun? Does the king still think you guys are dating?”

“I swear, the king is blind! He thinks we’re together, but whenever we are together, all Kunkun can do is talk about his bodyguard! I’m surprised he hasn’t ordered Ziyi to sleep with him already! Next time he comes to the playhouse, I swear I'll force him to confess!” Minghao laughed as Zhengting complained about his friend, glad to see he was shaken out of whatever funk he was in earlier. “Besides, at least Xukun has someone to love, it isn’t fair! Even if Ziyi is a blockhead who can't even notice it...”

“You have me, though!” Minghao quipped, perking up.

“Yeah, that’s my problem,” Zhengting said immediately with an eyeroll and playful smirk. Minghao let out an annoyed huff, as if he were offended, but a lazy smile graced his young face.

Both boys let out soft laughter before Zhengting finished his morning routine in the bathroom, leaving it open for the younger. “I’m gonna be going out of city limits today, so make sure you stay in the studio. You can practise for the next show with Zhangjing and Nongnong. I’ll be back before sundown.”

Minghao tilted his head, finishing the last of his food, before going into the bathroom himself. He started washing the scales of his own light green tail, eyeing the other. “Outside the city limits? How come?” He knew the older boy took days off to be by himself, especially after a stressful show, but this one seemed out of the ordinary.

Zhengting shrugged, heading past their beds and out the door. “Just make sure you stay in the city, okay? Be safe,” he called over his shoulder before he heard the same phrase called back as the door shut softly behind him.

In the early dawn light, Zhengting swam through the familiar path of the outer city. He politely nodded to familiar faces and offered small chats with those who praised him on his latest show. He enjoyed his work as an entertainer. Down in the city, both Zhengting and Minghao were a part of a small company of performers who put on shows every month. That’s how they met most of their close friends, and even the prince Xukun himself, who participated in a show from time to time. Though, Zhengting always felt a distance between himself and the others.

City merfolk were different from them. They didn’t see the tragedy that had befallen many villages. The city itself was deep down in the ocean, to a place where the weapons of humans couldn’t even begin to reach. Villages of other merfolk were placed in haphazard rings around the city, slowly moving further and further towards the shore. Zhengting’s own village had been one of the farthest out villages and it had been a miracle humans had not found the location earlier. Most of their fellow performers were from the city, leaving Zhengting and Minghao to be the odd ones out. Though their friends never seemed to mind, it was impossible for either boy to escape from the whispers of the public, often criticizing them based solely on their heritage.

Since the attack on his own village, several others had fallen the same fate, with their people either moving into the city or further down into the ocean. Zhengting personally had no idea why humans hunted them down, but he knew deep down his hate for them could never be quelled. And, furthering that sentiment, the city folk's dislike for the outer villages seemed to grow with every additional attack.

Arriving sooner than he thought, Zhengting found himself at the gate of the city’s limits. There was a wall built along the edge of the city’s uppermost level, and though it would easy enough to just swim over, the sheer size of it still kept a fair amount of trespassers out. Swimming up to the gate, he caught the eye of the guard on duty and let out a small sigh of relief.

“Yanjun,” Zhengting greeted softly, slightly bowing his head to the gate guard. The sharp looking guard was close with Zhangjing and Zhengting was fairly familiar with him. He often found Yanjun waiting for Zhangjing after a day’s practise, which Zhengting had always found endearing. “I’m going to be heading out today. I’m going to visit my parents…”

Yanjun’s piercing eyes stared down at Zhengting for a moment before nodding and opening the gate. “I’d be careful if I were you, though, Zhengting. We’ve been getting reports of more humans around that area lately.”

A shiver went through the purple tailed merman’s body at the word, but he tried to look undisturbed. “I’ll keep watch, don’t worry. I’ll let you know if I see anything too,” he added before heading through the gate.

The open ocean. There was something about it that just felt so freeing the Zhengting. Here, he could do whatever he wanted. Create small twirls in the water, swim as fast as his tail could push him, play with the unsuspecting schools of fish, nothing held him back. And with that, he began to swiftly tear through the water, laughter bubbling out of his mouth as he made his way to a familiar spot.

He passed by some of the outer villages, life beginning to stir as the sun rose higher in the sky. The water felt pleasantly warm as it danced past his skin, the sun shimmering down through the water in soft dapples. The light up here was far more intense then the light that filtered down into the city, but Zhengting didn’t mind it. He was built for this kind of outer ring living, not that of the dank city. He swam close to the bottom. oftentimes running a hand along the sand that lined the bottom of the ocean floor.

Unfurling the accessory fins on his tail, Zhengting felt like going all out for this excursion. The memories of the nightmare from earlier were now replaced with soft memories from his childhood, of his parents playing with him in the shallow waters of their village. At one point, he couldn’t help but angle himself upward and leap out of the water with great speed, taking in the sight of the surface world.

The sky was an amazing light blue color, graced with fluffy white clouds on occasion. The ocean itself glistened a deep blue-green color, small waves along the surface catching and reflecting the sunlight. In the distance, the muted browns and greens of surface land could be seen, but Zhengting heeded it no mind. He was close enough to home that he felt comfortable to be able to outrun any human interaction he came across.

As he gracefully crashed back into the water, Zhengting slowed his pace. He was nearing an area that typically could be found swarmed with humans and revealing himself would bring unwanted attention and trouble. As much as the purple tailed merman wanted to hurt the humans as they did to him, he knew that going on his own would be a suicide mission. With that in mind, the merman kept to the bottom of the ocean, and soon enough, began to see exactly what he was looking for in the distance.

A ring of stone along the outside of houses marked the graves of those lost ten years prior. As Zhengting got nearer, the faded writing on the rocks became clearer and he couldn’t help but let out a small sob. Be it the nightmare coming back in full force or the presence of his once lively childhood home, he couldn’t help but feel overwhelming sadness. His pace slowed even further as he approached the outer stones, hand slipping over them as he swam past, deeper into the village. Thought he had visited this place various times throughout his life since he first fled the area, Zhengting could never get over the emotions that welled up inside of him.

Through the familiar pathways he returned to on occasion, Zhengting made his way through the broken down village. Houses were beginning to see the test of time, some breaking down or becoming overrun with aquatic vegetation. Fish schools swam in and out through the windows, some even making their homes in the abandoned houses. Coming to a halt in front of one of the houses, Zhengting couldn’t help but let out a small cry, biting his lip.

“Mom, dad… I’m home…” He whispered. Pushing softly on the door, the merman swam slowly into his old home. Shelves lined the walls, filled with drawn pictures of a younger, happier Zhengting. Some when he was still hardly the size of his parents arms, another when he won the dancing display during a village festival, and another one of him trying to hold a newly born Minghao in his arms. Zhengting gently picked one up to examine it before hearing a noise coming from outside the house.

Alarmed, the merman swiftly darted towards the wall under the window of the building, peeking out from the bottom. There was the sound of water splashing, a rather harsh and uncoordinated sound. It seemed to have come from somewhere up above Zhengting before the sound of something moving completely in the water was heard. Moments later, he caught sight of something larger coming down towards the village. He ducked back under the window, pressing his back to the wall, hoping to go unnoticed by whatever was swimming by.

With the sound of his heartbeat going wild in his chest, Zhengting dared peek back over the edge of the window. After a few more tense minutes, and when he was sure the threat was gone, he slid out of the house as quickly as he could and began the swim back home, not looking back. This time, he did nothing fancy and didn’t bother to take any detours as he usually would. That visit by whatever creature was there was enough for him.

By the time he got back to the city limits, Zhengting was exhausted and ready to sleep. The sun was nearly about the set and the waters began to darken without the light source shining over. As he approached the gate, a different guard was there. Zhengting didn’t recognize him, but was quickly waved through regardless. Thought he knew he was well known, the merman didn’t think he was known enough to pass through without trouble.

Shaking his head, Zhengting made his way down into the city. It was soon made apparent that there was some commotion happening. People seemed to turn his way was he swam by, murmurs growing louder as the merman neared the center of the city. Light stones that were strewn about the city center began to glow as the last bits of sunlight vanished. Zhengting quickened his pace towards the studio when a mess of yellow struck into him.

"Zhengting! Finally, you’re back!” The ball of yellow exclaimed, looking up at Zhengting. Dazed from the sudden interaction, it took a moment for the merman to respond.

“Zhangjing? What’s going on?” He asked, looking down at the shorter merman. Immediately, Zhengting began to look around for Minghao, as he would usually be escorted home by Zhangjing and Yanjun on nights when Zhengting was busy elsewhere than the studio.

“It’s, it’s Justin! They took him!”


	2. After Leaving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Eating disorder implied for Zhengting

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Shouts of Zhegnting’s name couldn’t get past the dense fog that clouded his head. He recognized more people began to crowd around him, others from the studio, but none of it registered in his head.

Minghao. Gone. _Taken._

Those words bounced around Zhengting’s head until he felt firm hands grip his shoulders, shaking the merman out of his stupor. “Get a grip, Zhengting! We’ll get Justin back! You can’t just disappear inside your own head!” Xukun’s voice crashed through Zhengting’s thoughts, finally breaking him.

“They took Minghao… Humans took Minghao? Why would that happen? They don’t come up this far. What happened?” Zhengting yanked himself away from Xukun, casting an accusatory glance around the people who surrounded him. While many of his friends wore looks of concern, Zhengting met eyes for a moment with one who was filled with guilt.

Before anything else could be said, Xukun took up Zhengting’s hand, partially dragging him towards the studio. “We need to talk this out before we do anything else. C’mon Ting, you’ll get your answers.”

Reluctantly, Zhengting followed Xukun in front of him. He kept his eyes focused on the deep navy of his friend’s tail, mind going through every possibility of what could be happening to Minghao and how he could get him back. The crowd that had formed around the group had dispersed, other merfolk separating into small groups to talk in small whispers, some Zhengting could just pick up.

“He was from and outer village, right? It was only a matter of time I guess…”

“He was too curious for his own good, he got what was coming to him.”

“He’s a lesson to those who think going beyond the city limits is a good thing!”

Zhengting fumed silently as he swam along with Xukun, trying his best to not snap back at the whispers. They were wrong, all of them! Right before he was ready to round on a group that was particularly loud about Minghao’s outer ring heritage, a hand gripped his shoulder. Linong had swum up from the rear of the group, offering silent support to Zhengting, who managed to only let out a frustrated sigh.

Once in the studio, the group that remained had filed into one of the bigger meeting rooms, each taking a seat around the table. Light stones cast a blue hue over the group, almost seeming to bring down the mood even more. Zhengting ran his fingers along the smooth stone table, eyes raking over every member present.

“So, what happened?” Came the cold question from the purple tailed merman, waiting for a response from any of the others. He could feel Xukun tense at his side from the directness of his inquiry, but there was no use in trying to hide anything.

“Zhengting, I think before we need to start, you need to promise to not murder anyone,” Zhangjing said from Zhengting’s other side, the smaller merman flicking his tail under the table. “I’m surprised you haven’t even tried to yet.”

“Depending on how it goes, I can’t make any promises.” Zhengting said and could almost feel Yanjun and Ziyi, who had arrived with Xukun earlier, shift closer to him. He waved a dismissive hand, letting out a small huff. “Fine, fine, I won’t kill anyone. Now will someone please explain to me what the hell happened!”

After another tense moment of silence, someone from the far end of the table spoke up. “I-I was with him when it happened…”

Zhengting whipped his head around to face Linkai. The guilty gaze from earlier was back and the younger merman refused eye contact with the elder. Zhengting moved to swim up from his seat and move towards Linkai but Xukun’s hand kept him down. “Hear him out…”

Once Linkai was sure Zhengting wasn’t going to move, he nervously continued. “He said you were going out past the city limits and was worried about you. He said you hadn’t been eating a lot and didn’t want you to collapse. I told Justin it was a bad idea, but we followed you today. But, um, partway through we got lost and couldn’t find you, and then there was a ship and a net, and…” Linkai trailed off, biting his lip and fixing his gaze on the table. “I tried to help Justin, okay! He wouldn’t let me and told me to go back! I couldn’t leave him, but when humans came down into the water, he told me to leave! He said that he would be fine, that’d Zhengting would find a way to save him. I tried, I swear…”

Once Linkai came to a close on his story, gazes turned back towards Zhengting who had deflated in his chair. This was all his fault. His mind raced with putting the story together, knowing Minghao hadn’t remembered the same things he did all those years ago with humans. Maybe if Zhengting was more open, Minghao would have been more cautious. Maybe he wouldn’t had followed Zhengting out of the city limits. Maybe-

“Zhengting, hey. Listen to me. It’s not your fault.” Again, Xukun’s strong and confident voice pulled Zhengting out of whatever mindset he had. Zhengting blinked a few times in confusion at the comment before Xukun chuckled. “You were talking out loud.”

“Oh…” Zhengting felt heat rising to his cheeks as he was called out, turning his head away from Xukun. Somehow, the prince was always one who was able to distract Zhengting from whatever thoughts ran through his head. Maybe that's why they were such good friends. "I just... I just thought that maybe if he knew more, he'd know the dangers of going beyond the city limits. I should have been a better teacher to him."

Xukun shook his head, gripping Zhengting's hand. "Ting, we all know that's not true. Justin is very strong his beliefs. Your well being, to him, comes before any of the dangers that could be beyond the city limits." The others softly murmured in agreement.

“Once Justin has his head set on something, you can’t stop him!” Linong added from across the table. “Like, he keeps calling Xingjie that one name no matter how many times he gets beat… What was it again?”

“Huba. His name is Huba,” Linkai supplied helpfully, unable to hold back his laughter. “Justin heard that once and didn’t let him live it down.”

“Or even that once time he went on stage after hurting his fin… Zhengting, that was with you and some others, right? You looked so mad afterwards!” Zhangjing added, nudging the taller merman next to him. Zhengting cracked a small smile, appreciative of his friends efforts.

“Even the captain of the guard is fond of Justin,” Ziyi, who had been a silent presence next to Xukun since earlier, spoke as well with Yanjun nodding in agreement. “He said if Justin wasn’t so set on being on stage, he’d make a great soldier. He’s sparred with the new recruits sometimes and shows some real promise with a lance.”

The others began to retell stories they shared with Minghao, laughing at his many mischievous acts and display of real talent. Zhengting stayed silent in his seat, but his heart was warmed as they continued to speak fondly of the green tailed merman. In the end, the purple tailed merman couldn’t help but smile softly at his friends encouragement. It was comforting to know that they all seemed to care about the youngest as much as Zhengting did himself. “Thanks, guys. I guess I needed that. It’s pretty late now and there’s no way they’ll me out seeing as though it’s past sundown. We can decide what to do tomorrow after practise. I don’t think I’ll be able to stay in this show, though. Sorry about that. I’ll see you all later…” Zhengting, still trying to process the information, made his way out of the meeting room, six pairs of eyes worriedly watching after him.

Once outside, he felt like screaming. Minghao had only been concerned for his well being and now it’s Zhengting’s fault for him getting captured by those filthy humans. He had been one of the only things in Zhengting’s life that had ever felt stable. A brother younger than him by 6 years. The only one who kept Zhengting grounded even during his most stupid phases. Someone who he couldn’t think of as gone just yet.

In the back of his head, a scene from earlier in the day played in his head. In the village, the figures who were ungracefully swimming through it. They must have been humans from the same ship that captured Justin. Which means they must still be in the area.

Zhengting paused his swimming as the idea floated through his head. They didn’t let anyone outside city limits past sundown, but maybe if he was fast enough in the morning, he’d be able to find whatever humans had captured Minghao. What he’d do once he found them, Zhengting had no clue, but it was better than nothing.

“Hey, Zhengting! Slow down!” Zhangjing’s shout caught the purple tailed merman’s attention. Behind him, Zhangjing along with Yanjun were swimming towards Zhengting. The blue lights along the road lit up their worried expressions, but Zhengting was too giddy with his new idea to pay them any heed. “You should really swim with people who have shorter tails in mind!” Zhangjing complained immediately, slowing down as he neared the other.

Yanjun calmly swam up beside Zhangjing, looking Zhengting up and down. “Justin had said you were on a diet. You don’t look well, never mind well enough to rescue him any time soon. You need to eat.”

Retort ready, Zhengting opened his mouth before Yanjun’s hard glare made him close it immediately. The older guard had been one of the few close friends Zhengting had made outside of those from the studio, mostly due from Zhangjing’s connections with the silver tailed merman, and Zhengting had usually respected what he had to say. Instead, he chose to let out a small huff, crossing his arms. “I’ve been doing fine. In fact, I was on my way to eat now!”

At the mention of food, Zhangjing’s eyes seemed to light up. “Were you going out somewhere? Can we join? I haven’t had restaurant food in ages!” He looked between the two taller mermen, a smile gracing his features. Yanjun’s expression softened as he looked at the yellow tailed merman then back to Zhengting.

Zhengting, who had actually planned on going back home to try and think of ways to get Minghao back once he located him, winced at the couple looked at him hopefully. Resigned, he slumped forward slightly and sighed. “Fine, I guess you guys can come…”

Zhangjing immediately began clapping in joy as he started down the nearly empty street, further into the city. He began to chat about what kinds of food he would love to have and what new restaurants that had opened that he hadn’t gotten a chance to try while Zhengting and Yanjun followed behind him, listening to the shorter speak excitedly.

“You’re going out first thing tomorrow morning, right?” Yanjun’s question caught Zhengting by surprise. It was softly spoken, as not to disrupt Zhangjing’s current rant about some restaurant that got his order wrong once.

“N-no! Everyone promised that we’d think of a plan together!” A hard scrutinizing glare from Yanjun made Zhengting drop the act immediately. “Yeah… I want to rescue him as soon as possible,” Zhengting responded just as softly, hands fidgeting at this side. “He has to be safe. I just know it.”

Yanjun nodded, turning a fond gaze towards Zhangjing. The yellow tailed merman seemed to be lost in his own thoughts at this point, trying to choose where the trio should go to eat. “Yeah… I get what you feel. If I ever lost him…” A dark look passed over the guards face before going back to his usual firm expression. “Regardless, head over to the west gate tomorrow morning. I’ll let you through. Xukun might not be pleased, but I’m sure everyone else is concerned about Justin’s well being as well.”

Zhengting paused for a moment, processing the information, before launching forward and hugging Yanjun tightly. “Thank you,” he whispered, voice filled with emotion.

“Hey, does- Wait, what happened!? What’d I miss?” Zhangjing had turned around in that moment to witness to other two hugging. His expression turned shocked before he pouted, lightly hitting Zhengting’s arm. “I know you’re emotional, but he’s not for rent right now!” The three laughed at the comment before heading into Zhangjing’s restaurant of choice, moods seeming slightly lighter than earlier.

By the time Zhengting did make it home, escorted by a tired Yanjun carrying a drunk Zhangjing (“No, I swear! I can drink, you guys just never let me!” was his pitiful defense), he was fuller than he’d been in ages, which he wasn’t particularly proud of. Something about the fullness of his stomach made him feel guilty. The empty bed next to him seemed to perpetuate the feeling, a pang hitting the purple tailed merman right in the chest.

Minghao didn’t get to have any of that delicious food. Had Minghao even eaten? Was he injured? The more Zhengting thought about Minghao, the worse the pang in his chest became. The younger merman had been most of Zhengting’s world, raising him as close as a little brother. The pain had migrated from his chest down to his uncomfortably full stomach.

With a sudden lurch in his world, Zhengting swam as quick as we could to the bathroom before releasing the contents of his stomach. Everything had had eating with the couple from earlier was released, even followed by some attempts to get the nothingness out of him as well, until the merman was left with a sore throat and an aching stomach. He sniffled a few times before hoisting himself back up and making his way back to his bed.

Zhengting attempted to rest, convincing himself he needs the energy to rescue Minghao in the morning, but his overactive mind seemed to have other plans. By the time he did fall asleep, it was painful at most. Memories from the past seemed to creep up on him relentlessly, similar scenes replaying in his head over and over. Except, they were different.

_The screams were the same, but this time, there was no child in Zhengting’s arms. The harpoons were creating bubbles around him, making it hard to see. Above Zhengting, his parents perished in front of his eyes once more, their eyes going dull as they were taken away. To his side, someone was pulling Zhengting away, but it didn’t feel right._

_“No! Where’s Minghao!? Minghao! Where are you? I’m not leaving without you!” Zhengting screamed into the bloody water, merfolk disappearing around him. Eventually, the tugging to the side stopped and the bodies around him vanished. Through the murky water, Zhengting could see the familiar glint of green scales in the distance._

_“Minghao!” He began to swim towards the color, dodging the flying metal that rained down from the surface. No matter how fast he swam, the other seemed to just get further and further away. Zhengting flinched as he felt the metal slice through his skin, new blood blossoming in the water around him. “Minghao! I’m coming for you!”_

_After what felt like an eternity of swimming, Zhengting made it close to the younger merman, but was stopped cold in his movements. Eyes that were usually sparkling with mischief were dulled and lacked the shine they normally held. A net wrapped his body, two dark and shadowy figures pulling Minghao towards them with wide smiles on their faces. Zhengting found himself unable to move, another net wrapping around his body, keeping him away from Minghao._

_“No! NO! Minghao! Please!” Came his hoarse scream before his vision went to black._

With a start, Zhengting launched up in his bed, heart beating wildly in his chest. The room was as dark and empty as when he had fallen asleep. The only noise heard were the faraway sounds of the city center, muffled and soft. Running a hand through his hair, Zhengting let out a long sigh, hiccuping slightly after.

“I just wanted to be by your side and accompany you every day…”


	3. Dream World Tour

Zhengting lied awake in his bed, feeling weak. Anytime he closed his eyes for rest, he was plagued with images of Minghao being taken away or killed by the humans from above. Every bone in his body was yelling at him to go out and save Minghao at that very moment, but he knew it was impossible. Minghao would have to wait, but Zhengting silently vowed that he would make sure that wait was as short as possible.

Though the night seemed to go on forever, the sunlight had eventually broken through the misty darkness of night and began bathing the city in a pale yellow glow. With the dawn’s soft light filtering through the window, Zhengting got out of his bed, looking around the empty house.

_“Oh, Ting, you’re awake! I thought I was gonna have to drag you out of bed again!”_ Minghao’s familiar voice rang through Zhengting’s head as a flash of the green tailed boy seemed to appear in his vision as he went into the kitchen. Once in the small room, though, it was empty as the night before, completely void of the smaller merman. Usually, Minghao was pretty good at getting up early and was in charge of making sure the older merman could get out of bed as well, but now there was no one.

Attempting to shake away the fatigue that seemed to weight down his every movement, Zhengting moved to look in the cabinets in the kitchen. While they were mostly filled, he felt no desire to eat any of it. He felt a low grumble in his stomach, reminding him of the night before, where all the food that was in his stomach are been dispelled. With mild reluctance, he pulled some of the fish down to snack on as he began his normal routine. Following through with his routine would keep his mind on something else, at least, that's what he tried to convince himself of.

It was near mindless the way Zhengting did everything. He didn’t have to think about much while he went through it all besides the aching loneliness and silence that seemed all too loud at the same time. All too soon, he was done getting ready for the day and swimming over to the west gate to meet with Yanjun, who was hopefully already at his post for the day.

As Zhengting approached the gate, he noticed the familiar silver sparkle of Yanjun’s tail, as well as two others. The dark navy of Xukun and the deep black of Ziyi also were beside him, making Zhengting pause. They were talking too softly for him to make out what they were saying, but it didn’t take much to figure out it was probably about him. With a reluctant sigh, the purple tailed merman swam over to the other three.

“I see you’re here to judge me,” Zhengting noticed the look of surprise on Xukun’s face as he spoke. He meant it as a joke, but the cold and rough quality of his voice took even Zhengting himself by surprise. “Sorry, I had a, uh, rough night…”

Xukun moved closer to Zhengting, cupping his face one hand. “You look horrible…” He muttered, concern lacing his voice. Zhengting felt Xukun’s eyes examining every part of his face and couldn’t help the heat that rose up to his cheeks.

“Geez, you really know how to make a guy feel better!” Zhengting said, playfully batting Xukun’s hands away. “I know I look like shit, sue me.”

There was an amused snort from Yanjun behind them, who began to move towards the gate. “I knew you were going to be rash and head in with no plan, so I let Prince Xukun know. I thought maybe he could talk some sense into you.”

Xukun shook his head, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “See, the problem is once Zhengting has his mind set on something, he won’t stop until he sees it through. Sometimes I really do hate that about you.” Zhengting smiled and laughed, capturing Xukun in a hug.

“Aw, you get me so well Kunkun! I’m glad to have an understanding friend like you!” The older drawled, ruffling Xukun’s hair. “But, I will get him back you know. One way or another.”

Xukun smiled, nodding his head. “It doesn’t have to be today, Zhengting. I’m sure wherever he is, he will be fine. So, you don’t want yourself to go and get captured too. Just to be safe, come back to this gate tonight too. Yanjun’ll let you in. Just try and be home before sundown, okay?”

Zhengting nodded, giving Xukun one last good squeeze. “Yeah, I know if I come back any later you’ll send half the army out after me.” With that, the gate rattled open, Yanjun holding the lever down and motioning Zhengting to go through. With a final nod of farewell towards his friends, Zhengting started outward past the city, singular goal in mind.

The gate rattled shut behind him and something deep down in Zhengting immediately felt wrong. He wasn’t quite sure what caused the feeling, as he had left the city numerous times before, but it was still unpleasant and unnerving. Trying to swallow it down, he took the familiar route back to the village.

Unlike the day before, where the sun had dappled down from the surface, it was instead a muted light. Up above his head, Zhengting could see grey clouds filling the sky, the promise of rain coming down soon. With a sigh, he popped his head up above the water, trying to get a better look at his surroundings. In the distance, same as before, there was the distant muted colors of the landmass that bordered the ocean he lived in. In the area, there seemed to be nothing that indicated life beyond that of typical ocean dwellers. Zhengting couldn’t help but pout in frustration, seeing no signs of the humans that were located yesterday.

Diving back beneath the waves, the purple tailed merman could feel the wind tugging at the surface of the water. The idea of a storm passed his mind, but it was fleeting. Storm or not, he would at least get started on his search and rescue operation.

As he neared the village, the water seemed to get noisier. Rain slapped down on the top of the surface, which had become rough and violent in movement. Though hesitant, he broke through the surface once more, now that he was closer to the land mass.  
Same as before, he found the ugly greenish hues of the land uninviting and ugly. It was much closer now, with some buildings on the crest of the hill. Though, it was hard to make out much more than that, waves had begun to slam into Zhengting, tossing his body along with them.

“This isn’t working…” He mumbled to himself before quickly diving back under the water. A rather large wave had come through at that moment, crashing down on the merman’s head. With a surprised shout, Zhengting was dragged along with the wave. Despite his best efforts, he felt too weak to fight against the current it created around him. Be it the fatigue from the night before, energy spent swimming back to the village, or his lack of food, Zhengting knew he was in no shape to fight against the wave. Instead, he tumbled along with it, sweeping ever closer towards the shore.

By this point, the village was far behind Zhengting as he continued to tumble along the current made by the crashing waves. It wasn’t until a large rock in the middle of the water stopped him. More accurately, Zhengting could feel himself be slammed up against it, head crashing into the side. His mind went black at the impact, the only feeling left in his body was the dull ache coming from his muscles. It didn’t last long, though, as soon his head began to pound with an intense pain that made his muscles feel like a joke. Struggling to open his eyes, Zhengting found purchase on the rock that had done the damage in the first place. Nearly clawing himself up the side of it, Zhengting made his way up the slippery surface to try and get his bearings.

Around him, the sea was wild. The water churned dark in color with waves crashing into one another. Rain poured down and seemed to enrage the ocean even further, mixed with the blistering wind that seemed to come from every angle. It appeared to be an all out war between the elements, all of them battling to calm the rage of the sea.

It wasn’t long before another larger wave crashed onto the rock, sending Zhengting flying off of it. He let out a strangled shout before crashing back down into the ocean, landing harshly on the rocky bottom. Stones cut into his arm as he was then rolled along, bits and pieces of the stones dragging along his skin and tail.

Giving one last push, Zhengting attempted to find himself a route back to the deep waters, but the ocean seemed to have other plans. With another powerful current, the merman was spun tail over head, closer and closer towards the shore. The pounding in his head and stinging along his arms seemed to be more prevalent now more than ever as every passing bit of water seemed to irritate them. He found himself with no energy left to fight the waves, letting his body go limp as the waves flung his body too and fro as his eyes slowly closed with the dull pounding behind his head.

 

 

“Hey…! Hey! Are you okay!?” Zhengting winced at the sound of some unknown voice, waking up from whatever state of unconsciousness he was in. His body hurt and seemed too heavy to move from where he was. Instead of responding, he gave a small grunt, refusing to move a limb or open his eyes.

The sound of sand crunching came closer and closer to Zhengting before he slowly opened his eyes. In front of him was a human who seemed impossibly tall. Soft brown waves framed his face, with the smallest little freckle peeking out from under his eye. His face was distorted in concern as he crouched down, reaching a hand out to brush away some of Zhengting’s hair. “That doesn’t look good…” The human murmured.

With a small hiss of pain, Zhengting smacked the concerned hand away, head pounding with the effort. “S-stay away from me… It doesn’t concern you…” He wheezed, voice dry and scratchy. Looking around, the merman noticed they were in what looked to be a small grotto on the side of the beach, water receding away from them. “Shit…”

Using whatever reserves of energy he had deep down in himself, Zhengting attempted to heave himself upwards towards the water, but quickly realized it would be an impossible task until the tide came further up onto the shore. He felt dry and uncomfortable, unaware of how long he’d actually been beached. Beside him, the human hadn’t moved, only retracted his hand.

“Do you want help?” Came the quiet suggestion from the human. Zhengting looked upwards sharply, trying to ignore the pain.

“Not from you!” He hissed, eyes narrowing. “Leave me alone!”

The human frowned, something that Zhengting felt didn’t suit his facial features. Feeling only the smallest tinge of guilt, he looked away from the human, focusing on the sand in front of him. There was shuffling from the sand as the human stood up. Zhengting felt a small sigh of relief escape him before pausing. What if he was going back to get others? Then how would he save Minghao? Quickly, Zhengting turned back towards the direction of the human, opening his mouth before he felt weightless.

The human, with what seemed to be minimal effort, had lifted Zhengting upwards, bringing their faces close together. The merman’s eyes went wide as it clicked in his mind as to what happened. He began to squirm as the human walked, attempting to push himself out of the strong grip.

“Put me down! Let me go! Stop this!” Zhengting hollered, trying to push himself out of the grasp of the human. Still, the human persisted and eventually softly placed Zhengting down by the water.

“Sorry, you just looked like you needed help…” The human said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. He looked around the small grotto, biting his lip. “I won’t tell anyone I saw you here. Lately, my father’s been wanting to collect anything beautiful he finds, so it’d be best if you left this area for now…”

Zhengting blinked, trying to understand what the human was doing. He was… being helped? The human had scuffed one foot in the sand before being attracted to a noise off in the distance. Quickly, he began to walk out the area, quickly whispering urgently over his shoulder. “Hey, get out of here! Someone’s coming!” With that, Zhengting watched with wide eyes as the human left him alone in the grotto.

After a few more heartbeats, Zhengting’s mind had caught up with the whole situation, slowly remembering he needed to move back further into the water. Shuffling his way into the tide, wincing as sand caught between his scales, the merman eventually made it far enough in to begin to swim away towards the entrance of the grotto. He hung around by the opening, looking back towards the open beach to where the tall human had gone off to. Two shorter humans had approached him, their voices carrying over the sound of the calmed waves.

“There you are Wenjun! We were looking everywhere for you!” The first one spoke, being the shortest of the three. “His Majesty was having a fit over you leaving your piano lessons early again!”

The second one spoke, distinctive blond hair making it easier to distinguish him from the other two. “Yeah, we were waiting for you! I can’t believe you would ditch us like that!”

Wenjun, which Zhengting guessed was the name of the human who helped him, just shrugged. “I thought it was cancelled because Chengcheng has been spending all his time with the thing the fisherman brought in a few days ago.”

The other two shared an uneasy look between each other. “You mean the mermaid he found? I don’t know how Chengcheng does it… Have you heard about what those things do!?” The blond one spoke again shuddering dramatically. “I think they should have just thrown it back in the ocean!”

At this point, the three of them began to walk away from the beach, lost in their own conversation. He noticed Wenjun cast one last glance over his shoulder, eyes scanning the ocean until they seemed to meet with Zhengting’s own. Feeling a blush creep up on his cheeks, Zhengting quickly dove back down under the water, heart thudding in his chest.

“You’re just falling into dreamland… Break through the surface and you’ll be fine…” Zhengting softly told himself, trying to stop the rapid beating of his heart. Sluggishly, he began heading away from the shore, trying his best to find the general direction of his former village. He felt too tired and broken to properly process any of what happened, the dull pounding in his head and stinging arms coming back with a vengeance.

After what felt like too long, he noticed what seemed to be a large commotion in the distance. In what seemed to be the village, the tails of various merpeople seemed to sparkle in the dimming light. Zhengting dreamily drew near it, exhaustion finally taking over. At one point, he thought he heard his name being called out and saw others swimming towards him before he finally gave in, halting his swimming to softly fall forward, sinking towards the bottom, feeling arms wrapping around him as he did so. As he slowly faded from consciousness, Zhengting truly did think he was in a dreamland.


	4. I'm Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to post this earlier, but I was traveling to see Xukun so I didn't finish in time lol Anyway, happy (belated) one year anniversary to Nine Percent!

“He’s really not as scary as you’d think! He’s like us, ya know? Just, with a tail instead of legs…” Wenjun stared absently at the plate in front of him while his friends chatted away. In the small sitting room, Quanzhe, Zeren, Xinchun, and Chengcheng were eating some sandwiches that were brought in earlier. Since Chengcheng had come back from the meeting with the mysterious mermaid, or merman as Chengcheng had insisted, he hadn’t stopped talking about him.

“Cheng, have you read nothing? You know what they say about their kind! They lure you in with their good looks then eat you alive!” Xinchun emphasized his point by taking a large bite out the sandwich he had in one hand, lifting up the remaining portion. "This could be you!"

“You guys just haven’t talked to Justin yet! I bet those books are full of shit!” Chengcheng defened, looking more annoyed with every passing second.

“You know, is it really worth it to get close to it? Once the king gets gets no inspiration from it, he’ll just sell it or something…” Quanzhe spoke up from the side of Wenjun, casting a glance towards the taller. “And I don’t think your parents are interested in buying it.”

Chengcheng began to bicker back, the conversation rotating between the other four boys. Wenjun, meanwhile, was lost inside of his head. He was as shocked as everyone else when the fisherman had come back with a merman, the likes of who hadn’t been seen in nearly a decade. His father, ever a man who fancies unique and beautiful artifacts as means of insipration for the arts and music, was immediately smitten with the newest catch, quickly ordering a tank to be made and set up on display.

The merman was quite beautiful to look at, that was true, but the one he saw yesterday was even better. Slowly flexing one hand, he remembered what the injured merman had felt like, with strong muscles under his lithe frame. His tail was the most beautiful shade of purple Wenjun had ever seen and his face was beyond gorgeous. It was nearly angelic, even when tinged with anger.

Eventually, Wenjun was pulled out of his mind when he felt the four pairs of eyes landing on him, looking expectant. He blinked a few times, looking between the others. “D-Did I miss something?”

Zeren clicked his tongue, slinging one arm over Wenjun’s shoulders. “You know, you really need to fix that habit of spacing out. You’re gonna miss something really important one day.”

Wenjun smiled sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders. “It helps when you sit in meetings for hours a day.” He added a good natured laugh at the end, contrasting the sigh that dramatically left Xinchun’s lips.

“Yeah, that’s because you don’t have to be taking notes of everything! Apologies, Your Tallness, but some people do have to listen to every word those stinky old men have to say!” Xinchun’s head made a small noise as he plopped it down on the table, a groan following. Zeren attempted to hold back laughter at his friend’s pitiful state, covering his mouth with one hand as some chuckles escaped.

“Speaking of, don’t you have one to go to soon?” Quanzhe looked over at the clock to the side of the room, hands both getting nearer to the twelve and one positions. “You said you had an hour for lunch earlier.”

Wenjun paused before nodding, thanking the blonde for the reminder. “We should get going. I’ll see you guys later,” Wenjun got up and waved a hand before heading out of the sun room, Xinchun dragging his feet behind him.

“I don’t get why we have to go… We don’t even officially run anything yet…” Xinchun muttered, casting a longing glance over his shoulder back towards the room they exited from. “Sometimes, I really do hate my family.”

Wenjun opened his mouth for a comforting response, but it was cut off as a large crashing sound was heard in the distance. The two boys looked between each other for a heartbeat before breaking into a sprint, heading towards the noise. Quickly, their thudding footsteps turned into small splashes as water slowly pooled at their feet. They turned into the foyer, a mess happening before their very eyes.

On the floor was a terrified and bloody merman and over him was a man, holding a shard of glass in his hand. Without a second thought, Wenjun rushed forward, grabbing the man from behind, dragging him back.

“Let me go! Let me kill the damned thing! It’s a monster, you hear me! It’ll kill you all!” The man screamed and wiggled in Wenjun’s grasp, trying his best to escape. Wenjun, with his arms hooked around the shoulders of the attacker, refused to let go, grunting with effort.

“Xinchun! Go get someone!” The shorter boy, who was standing still in shock, nodded and rushed off, calling out for a guard.

“Trust me, prince boy! One day you’ll wake up to find this whole castle dead! I wouldn’t doubt he’s already eaten some tasty maids. Just let me kill him, you all can be safe!” The attacker continued to struggle and free himself, shouting louder and louder with each sentence. Thankfully, Xinchun returned soon enough with a guard, Bu Fan, following close behind.

Bu Fan, being one of the few people in the castle taller than Wenjun himself, was an intimidating presence, and quickly silenced the man by giving him a harsh slap in the face. Other guards, who were alerted by the yelling, began to flood into the foyer, each of them displaying various looks of shock at the scene. The man, now given to another guard, was shouting once more as he was dragged out of the foyer.

  
“Apologies, Your Highness, that we were not here earlier,” Bu Fan said from Wenjun’s side. Surprised, the prince nodded, a tight smile forming at his lips.

“Ah, it’s fine I guess. I didn’t get hurt but…” Wenjun glanced towards the merman who sat helpless on the floor. His brilliant green tail was spattered with red along with his torso and arms. “I think he might need help.” At the comment, Bu Fan seemed to visibly tense.

“I sent Ling Chao to get Chengcheng, Your Highness… Seeing as though he seemed to be the closest with the creature…” Bu Fan followed Wenjun’s line of sight, hand resting on the hilt of his sword at this side.

Wenjun nodded before slowly walking towards the merman. He heard Xinchun shout something from behind him, but chose to ignore it. Instead, the prince carefully picked his way through the shards of broken glass, making his way towards the merman. Crouching down, the image of the brilliant purple merman crossed his mind, but Wenjun chose to ignore the nagging feeling that came with it.

“Are you okay?” He asked softly, only to get large eyes staring up at him. They blinked owlishly, the merman slowly pointing towards himself.

“M-Me?” He squeaked, looking shocked. Wenjun chuckled softly and nodded, a smile gracing his features. The young merman looked panicked for a moment before nodding violently.”Y-Yes! I’ll be fine! I think?” He added with a small tilt of his head.

“We should probably move you somewhere for now,” Wenjun looked around the room just in time to see Chengcheng barging in, Ling Chao following close behind him.

“Holy shit, Justin!” Wenjun moved to the side as Chengcheng rushed over, seeming to pay the pieces of broken glass no heed. Instead, he went to inspect the merman, swearing under his breath as he noted all the small cuts. “Wenjun, what the hell happened here?”

“I’m sure he’d love to tell you, but we’re late enough as it is,” Xinchun had edged closer to the group on the floor, his face contorted with worry. “They’re probably waiting for us.”

Wenjun paused before nodding, looking back towards Chengcheng. “You can move him to the saltwater both in my room. I’m sure my dad will have something built for him again soon enough.” Chengcheng nodded as Wenjun stood up, walking back towards Xinchun.

“Are you crazy!? What if he kills you in your sleep!?” Xinchun hissed when they were far enough away, quickening his stride to keep up with Wenjun. The taller shook his head, opening a pair of double doors towards the meeting room.

“Xinchun, you saw him. Once he’s out of water, he can’t even move.” Wenjun ended the conversation there was he entered the meeting room. Xinchun entered a few paces behind him, head bowed down. They waited off to the side before the room quieted down, the stern gazes of the king and his advisors finding themselves on the two boys.

“Wenjun. I assume you and Huang have a reason for being late?” King Ronghao looked between the two boys, gaze harsh, which Wenjun winced at internally. King Ronghao had adopted Wenjun after his mother, the former head maid of the castle, was murdered while defending Ronghao’s wife while she was ill in bed. His father was unknown, so King Ronghao had took matters into his own hand after the queen had eventually passed away, deciding to raise Wenjun as the next king. They both had lost the closest person to them, developing a strong bond from that, so it burned inside the tall prince when Ronghao was disappointed and angry at him,

Wenjun bowed deeply, arms firm at this side. “My apologies, Father. There was a rouge in the castle who attempted to take the life of the merman we acquired the other day. He broke the class on the enclosure, but we were able to stop him before he did any more damage. Bu Fan took him down to the dungeons and Fan Chengcheng took the mermaid to the salt water bath.”

Ronghao sat back in his chair, eyes trained on Wenjun and Xinchun. “Is that the truth?”

From beside Wenjun, Xinchun nervously spoke up, keeping his head bowed down. “If I may speak, Your Majesty, I can confirm this. On our way here, we heard and crashing sound and Prince Wenjun had gone to intercept the rogue before anything could befall the mermaid. I assure you, this is the truth.”

Ronghao sat silent for a minute before nodding his head, motioning to the open chair beside him. “I see. We will talk about this later. For now, let us continue where we left off.”

Giving each other glances, the pair moved to their respective positions around the table, with Wenjun next to Ronghao and Xinchun standing close behind. The meeting continued as normal, but for some reason, Wenjun couldn’t stay focused. His mind drifted back to the merman, but not the one he helped earlier in the foyer. Instead, he thought of one that looked dazzling even while injured. The gorgeous purple tail that had glistened in the dying morning light as well as his skin, which was pale and seemed to give him an otherworldly glow. Small bits and pieces of the day before replayed in his mind, but he tried to look engaged in the meeting at hand.

Once it was over, and nothing had remained in the prince's head, Wenjun had excused himself, promising to talk to the king at a later point. Without a thought to XInchun, who was shocked at the sudden sense of urgency from the prince, Wenjun took long strides to where he knew Chengcheng had taken the merman from earlier. As he neared, Wenjun heard voices and quiet laughter coming from the room. He gave the door a soft knock before entering.

“Oh, you’re back already?” Chengcheng was seated by the tub on a small stool. Next to him, the mermaid was taking up a majority of the bathtub, the end of his green tail flopped over the edge of the tub. The mermaid himself looked fine, though still a bit shaken. There was a rather large cut over the palm of his hand, along with what seemed to be fine cuts along his arms and torso, but it looked like nothing else had majorly injured the merman. Wenjun went over to the pair, nodding to them both.

“Are you doing better now?” He asked the youngest softly, a gentle smile gracing the prince’s features. Shyly, the merman nodded back, looking to Chengcheng for confirmation.

“He’s fine, Junie. Though, if you didn’t get there when you did, he might not have been… I don’t even want to think about what that nasty guy would do if you didn’t stop him…” Chengcheng’s mouth went into a tight line, showing the boy was still holding back from his earlier. Wenjun nodded in acknowledgement before turning back to the mermaid.

“Before we go any further, I have a very important question for you. Justin, was it? Do you happen to know anyone like you with a purple tail?”


	5. I Need a Doctor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Sorry it's short, I've been busy with some projects this week. College is fun, you know /s  
> 2) Also, Zhengting has a panic attack, so if reading about that triggers you in anyway, feel free to skip to the end of the chapter. Otherwise, enjoy!

Zhengting awoke to the sounds of people mulling around him. They were muted and dull sounding, but also carried a certain loudness to them that made his head pound in pain. He let out a low groan, attempting to open his eyes. Over his head, the dull blue of the light stones cast a soft glow over his head, but Zhengting couldn’t help but flinch away from the light. Around him, the voices seemed to stop.

“Is he awake?”

“He’s up, someone get the doctor!”

“Where’s the Prince? He should know too.”

Zhengting flinched away from the voice as merfolk gathered around him, closing his eyes and letting out a groan of protest. “H-Huh…?” His voice was hoarse and scratchy, showing obvious signs of disuse. 

“All right, everyone move away. You can talk to him later.” Even through his dull haze, Zhengting could make out the voice of the studio’s doctor, Han Mubo. It had a soft and relaxing quality to it that put Zhengting at ease. He struggled to sit upright, but a soft hand had kept him down.

“You don’t want to ruin Mubo’s hard work by moving too much!” A much chipper voice spoke from beside Zhengting belonging to Mubo’s partner, Qin Fen. Zhengting blinked, slowly processing the information.

“Fenfen? Mubo? Where am I?” The purple tailed merman managed to croak out a few words, coughing slightly as he did so.

“Medical ward of the castle. Prince Kun said you went missing for a day and set out to find you with some others. They found you right before you collapsed outside of your village three days later and brought you back. Everyone was worried you know.” Away from where Zhengting was laying and Qin Fen was sitting next to him, Mubo seemed to be working on something, dark red tail swishing back and forth with mild annoyance. “Malnourishment, head trauma, possible concussion, sprained wrist, lacerations along your side, signs of desiccation… Zhu Zhengting, if I didn’t know you better, I’d have you locked up in a bubble. You have some pretty serious injuries to worry about.” 

Zhengting shrunk back into himself every time a new ailment was listed, arms wrapping around his body in shame. Beside him, Qin Fen looked on worriedly, a frown evident on his face. Unable to meet the eyes of either of the elder, Zhengting focused on a particular cut along his waist, right before his scales begun. “Sorry…” He squeaked out.

Mubo shook his head, bringing over a small plate of food to place in front of Zhengting. “It isn’t me you should be apologizing to, it should be them.” He pointed towards the door. Outside it seemed at though most of those from the studio were restlessly waiting outside. Zhengting stared at it, shocked, before looking down at the food Mubo gave him. He let out a small nod, picking at one of the smaller fish that adorned the plate. “I’m confining you to rest in bed for the next few days.” He fixed a harsh gaze on Zhengting, expecting immediate rebuttal. “And that is with no complaining. You are not to leave this room until at least that wrist of yours is healed and you have more food into you.”

Qin Fen straightened up from his position, tugging on Mubo’s hand. “Hey, he’s had a hard time. Don’t be so mean…” Mubo fixed that same harsh gaze on Qin Fen, but it didn’t last long. He turned his head away, hiding his expression from both of the others in the room.

“Mean or not, it’s for his own good. If he can’t take care of himself, he’ll just have to be monitored.” Mubo regained his poise, leaning down to give Zhengting a soft pat on the head. “We’re all here for you, Zhengting. You don’t have to do this all on your own.”

Zhengting felt the soft hand and nodded, eyes still fixed down on his tail. Soon, it left and he heard the soft sound of the two leaving the room. Once gone, Zhengting let out a small hiccup, his breathing becoming erratic. Every word Mubo spoke seemed to cut deeper into him than anything from the shore. His heart felt like it was beating a million times per minute and his head hurt too much to try to place everything together. What had happened? Zhengting could remember heading out to search for Minghao, a storm coming, but everything after that was a blur. Had he found any clue? Was there something important he was forgetting? Why had everyone taken time out of their schedules to look for him? Why was he such a nuisance?

He let out a strangled sound as everything hurt too much and his vision began to tunnel. Zhengting’s head was no better than a murky cave and he could sift nothing of importance out it. In the distance, voices seemed to call out, but they were a million miles away. Something seemed to touch his skin, but it felt too hot, so he flinched away from the touch. His eyes darted as he tried to figure out what was doing that to him.

It was hard, but Zhengting could make out a blurry shape of a face. Soon, his hands were brought up to the face, fingers shakily making out the distinct features on it. Nose, eyes, chin, mouth… It was Xukun. The prince’s mouth began to move, but Zhengting still couldn’t hear the words. He tried to say something in response, but it felt as though his voice was caught in his throat, too afraid to leave.

Soon, he felt the embrace of someone. It was a comforting type of warmth and something sparked in his head. Rocks, waves, and a sharp floor. The sound of waves washing against the shore and a warm smile. Large arms around him and picking up to move towards the water. Wenjun. The name seemed to pop out of nowhere, but it stung in Zhengting’s head more than any part of him that was bruised and battered.

“What?” Focusing back on the present, Zhengting felt that his chest was far less compressed, his breathing coming easier as he leaned into the embrace that held him. Everything still seemed like it was overwhelming his mind, but he knew he wasn’t alone. The presences around him were comforting and warm, all of them trying to help. After focusing on the hold and his breathing, Zhengting managed to make out Xukun sitting in front of him on the bed with Ziyi close behind the prince. Zhengting’s hands shakily clung onto Xukun’s, as if he were trying to ground onto something. The position of the hug was strong at his back, with a body that most likely belonged to Linong. To his side was one finger tapping in count with a soft voice counting in his ear that belonged to Zhangjing. Zhengting attempted to breathe with each count, focusing on trying to make out more distinct features on Xukun’s face. Slowly, Zhengting felt his heartbeat become less erratic and his breathing even out with the help of his friends. Soon after, he heard the sound of Mubo re-enter the room, Linkai and Yanjun following behind.

“It’s a panic attack, Mubo. While we were waiting outside, I could hear him go into one. They were pretty frequent when we were younger, but he hasn’t had one in a while…” Xukun had turned to explain to Mubo as Zhengting slouched into Linong behind him, softly closing his eyes while the pink tailed merman ran a hand through his hair.

Mubo nodded, looking at Zhengting. “He needs nutrients and rest. If you could get him to do that sometime soon, that’d be for the best. He’s been through a lot and until his mind heals itself, that’s the best we can do. Most of the physical ailments are already healed.” His voice was soft and quiet, as if not the disturb Zhengting from his moment of calmness

“Oh, we should all have a sleepover or something! That way we could all be there if anything happens!” Linong whispered excitedly over Zhengting’s head, his signature smile blossoming over his features. Everyone looked back at him for a moment before sharing confused looks among themselves. “I’m sure the studio has some prop beds we could use! It’d be like a big family gathering! We can watch over him too so he doesn’t do too much!”

The others began talking in soft voices to each other about the idea and Zhengting couldn’t help but bite his lip. He realized that they were doing it all for him and guilt seemed to gnaw away at his stomach. He was ruining any time they had off by trying to help him with his own problems, when Zhengting was confident enough they would go away. Eventually, he would be fine. He always was.

“G-guys…” Zhengting opened his eyes and coughed lightly, the room going silent as he spoke. “I’ll be fine, really. There’s no need to worry, I can handle this.”

Across the room, an amused snort came from Yanjun. “If you call what happened earlier ‘handling it’, then I think Nongnong’s suggestion is a reasonable one.” He crossed his arms over his chest, as if daring Zhengting to speak against him.

“But getting the studio and you guys involved is too much. I’ll be fine in a few days, so I can manage until then,” Zhengting weakly insisted, the eyes of the others not truly believing him.

“Fine then, we can have it here. We have plenty of extra beds and I’m sure we have a big enough room.” Xukun spoke up and nodded towards Linong. “No reason why we can’t just have a fun night out to ourselves in the castle. My dad won’t mind, especially if it’s for Zhengting.”

“Not too fun, Your Highness. Zhengting is still recovering from some pretty bad injuries, so I hope you can make sure he still takes it easy.” Mubo warned from where he was leaning on the nearby table in the room, giving everyone in the room a pointed look. “I don’t want to see anything open back up tomorrow.”

Zhengting’s lips turned into a small pout as his comment was ignored. While the others begin to talk around him, Zhengting struggled into a sitting position by himself. “Guys, stop this! I’m good enough by by myself! Really, I can just stay here and be fine.” His gaze challenged anyone to go against him, which was something the others typically didn’t do. Zhengting clung onto the last bits of remaining pride he had as though the others could rip it out of his hands at any given moment.

“Zhengting, the moment Mubo left, you lapsed back into a panic attack. You haven’t had one that bad in years. Losing Justin is taking its toll on you, but you won’t be able to do anything in the shape you’re in. You’re always helping others; let us help you for once.” Ziyi, though usually quiet and contemplative, spoke from behind Xukun, eyeing down the purple tailed merman. The others nodded in agreement.

“Ting, you really push yourself too much sometimes. Let’s take a break for now so we can fight back at full force and get Justin back next time!” Linkai popped into the conversation, face spread into a big grin. “Just you wait! Next time, not even a storm can stop us!”

“We’re all strong, but we’re even stronger when we’re together and fighting for someone we love. Justin’s as much family to us are you are, Zhengting. We’ll fight for the both of you.” Linong moved around to wrap his arms around the injured merman again, hugging him close.

Zhengting paused for a moment, looking around the room astonished before he felt a deep red blossom across his face. He quickly tried to hide it behind his hands, but it didn’t work well as he was easily seen by the others, who had burst out in laughter at his embarrassment. “Fine, fine! Have your sleepover! I guess I’ll go!”

“Success~!” Zhangjing hummed, looking pleased with the outcome. “Let’s get ready then!”


	6. Fly to the Moon

It didn’t take long for Mubo to shoo the other five mermen out of the room after they made their declaration, huffing as he did so. He cast a smile at the remaining merman on the bed, instructing him to get as much rest as possible until the mischievous ones had finished whatever set-up they planned. Outside, Qin Zimo guarded the door, promising to inform the doctor if there were any problems with Zhengting. He gave a smile and waved as the door shut, Zhengting returning it weakly.

Now that he was alone again, Zhengting laid down softly on his bed. His head still pounded in pain, more noticeable than before, but he tried to push it out of his mind. Wenjun. Who was he again? Important, that much Zhengting knew. He tried to think about what happened after the storm. In vague and hazy flashes, he remembered the feeling of his body hitting the sharp rocks that lined the bottom of the shore and being tossed around by waves, but it was all black after that. The purple tailed merman let out a frustrated sigh, upset he couldn’t remember anything key from his mission.

“Wenjun… Wenjun… Who the hell was Wenjun…” He muttered to himself, eyes fixed on the ceiling. Zhengting tried over and over to pull something up from his mind, but nothing seemed to work. Eventually, his overworked mind drifted out of consciousness, leading Zhengting into an empty sleep.

*

“His name is Zhengting?” Wenjun sat on a stool near the merman in the bathtub, looking serious. The merman who was sitting there looked mildly uncomfortable, but also hopeful. Chengcheng sat to the other side, idly playing with the merman’s hair.

“Yeah, he’s taken care of me for as long as I can remember. At one point, he told me our parents were friends, but they were killed during an attack on our village…” Minghao’s voice got quiet as he continued, not meeting the eyes of either of the humans in the room. “There were humans who came in and killed most of our village. A few us managed to flee and be safe, but I don’t remember any of it. Zhengting remembers it all though. Sometimes, he’ll wake up with nightmares and it’s really scary…”

Wenjun nodded and gave the merman a smile. “Don’t worry, I can assure you no one here is the same as whoever attacked your village. They were probably pirates looking to profit… But regardless, that explains a lot as to why he seemed so upset when I met him.”

Shocked, Minghao shot upright from his leaning position, eyes going wide. Chengcheng off to the side looked shocked at the sudden movement, falling backwards in his stool. “Y-You met Ting!? You mean he was here?”

Wenjun frowned, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “Not exactly? I found him washed up on shore not too long ago. He looked pretty banged up, though. I think he was caught up in the storm from a few days ago…”

Minghao seemed to deflate immediately, crossing his arms over the side of the tub and resting his head on it. “Oh, I see… Then there’s no way he’d know I’m here…”

Chengcheng had gotten up at this point, rubbing his back to try and disperse the pain that settled there. “Even if he did know you were here, what could he do? Swim up to the cliff and ask for you back? No offense or anything, but I don’t think that’ll work very well for either of you.” He looked between Wenjun and Minghao, shrugging. “I’m just saying, I don’t think the King would let Justin go that easily. And, even if your people are in hiding, could this lead to them potentially being found? Honestly, I just think that waiting it out until the King finds something new to be inspired by is the best option.”

At this comment. Minghao seemed to deflate even more, sinking his torso deeper into the tub. “Poor Zhengting… He’s probably going crazy without me. He always made sure I was safe and nothing happened… One time, in school, some kid started bullying me and the second Zhengting found out, he went up to the kid and his mother and chewed them both out. The bully left me alone after that!” The green tailed merman couldn’t help the sigh that came out, his eyes looking far away as he traveled back in his memories.

“I hope he’s okay. He’s really good at looking after others, but not himself. He always tries to hide everything away without telling everyone. He doesn’t understand that just hurts everyone more!” Minghao stopped his rant when he realized both of the humans around him were staring. Awkwardly, he looked away. “Sorry, ‘m just worried…” He muttered.

With a good natured laugh, Wenjun ruffled Minghao’s hair, a natural smile on his face. “You’re worried, that’s normal. I’m sure it’ll will all work in the end.”

Chengcheng flung his arms around Minghao’s shoulder’s, a pout evident on his face. “Wenjun, don’t you have prince things to do? Especially considering the fact you were late to your meeting earlier?” Wenjun could feel the jealousy radiating from the other, stifling a chuckle.

“Yeah, yeah, I guess so. Well, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to tell Chengcheng. He can be your servant for now until your tank is rebuilt,” He gave a smile in response to Chengcheng’s gawking expression, waving as he left the room.

Once out into the hallway, he almost immediately ran into Yanchen, a servant. He was good friends with Zeren and the other’s in their friend group were wagering when they would finally seal the deal and start dating. In fact, it was odd to see him without the shorter boy by his side.

“Your Highness, there you are! His Majesty was looking for you earlier, but no one could find you. If you’re free, he’s currently in the throne room.” Yanchen smiled as he walked up to the prince. “I think Xinchun said that you were somewhere with the mermaid, but no one wanted to get too close.”

“Merman,” Wenjun corrected softly. “He’s a male, so he’s a merman.” Yanchen blinked before nodding.

“Merman. Got it.”

Wenjun nodded and dipped his head as he began to take long strides towards the throne room. He gave mindless waves to the people he passed by, trying to steel himself for the scolding he would ultimately receive. With a strong sigh, he stood outside the doors of the throne room, heart pounding in his chest. Lightly slapping his face, Wenjun leaned forward to open the doors, keeping a calm facade.

Opening the door led to one of the grandest rooms in the castle. A large hall adorned with pillars and intricate eves along the wall, finished with a beautiful mural on the ceiling of the night sky, it was easy to take someone’s breath away. Gold accents dotted the walls and few pieces of furniture that were present, as well as the throne itself, which was upholstered with a deep blue fabric and intricate gold designs along the edges. In it sat the most intricate piece of all, Ronghao.

He was in deep conversation with Xinchun, who, to Wenjun’s trained eye, seemed as nervous as he could be. Once the door was open and Wenjun made his presence know, the other boy seemed to relax immediately, eyes resting on his friend. Ronghao paused the conversation as well, looking at Wenjun down the path. He motioned for him to come close, to which the prince walked down the center carpet at a slow pace.

“Wenjun. I was told you were checking on the merman. How is he doing?” Ronghao leaned back in his chair, crossing his hands in his lap as he watched Wenjun, who had bowed respectfully.

“He’s mostly unharmed, Father. He does have some acute injuries, but overall, he seems to be in good health. Currently he is resting in a salt water bath and Fan Chengcheng is watching over him.”

Ronghao nodded, closing his eyes as he thought. Wenjun stood in silence for a moment, shuffling his feet before bowing forward. “Um, I would like to apologize about my earlier tardiness. I felt as though the meeting was important, the well-being of the merman was also something to be-”

“You do not need to apologize.” Wenjun couldn’t help the shocked expression on his face as Ronghao cut him off. Awkwardly, he stood up, scratching the back of his head in an attempt to hide tha awkwardness he carried. “In fact, that is not what I called you here for today, Wenjun. I am her to inquire as to whether or not you have thought about looking for a fiancee yet.”

That comment stopped any flow of thought Wenjun had in his head. He stared like a fish with his mouth open at the king. The expression elicited a small chuckle from the King, who leaned forward.

“Wenjun, I am getting older. I have begun to involve you more into the official politics in order to train you better for taking over our kingdom. One of the things you need to rule is a partner to share your life with as well. Finding someone at your age will allow you to build up some connection with them before your official coronation as king. I was speaking with Xinchun earlier and we’ve put together a list of possible choices for you. It is my intention to hold a gathering for people your age in order for you to begin your search.”

Wenjun continued to stare incredulously at the King, blinking a few times. At one point, he snapped his jaw shut, running a hand through his hair. “Finding a partner? No offence Father, but right now-”

Ronghao held up a hand to halt the prince before he went on any farther. “I am not asking you to find someone right now. I merely want you to be acquainted with your possible future matches. We will hold the gathering in a week’s time. Please be sure to attend all your lessons in order to be properly behaved when the guests arrive. For now, that is all. You are dismissed.”

Xinchun bowed to the king before walking down the stairs to where Wenjun was standing, going right up to the prince, who seemed to still be trying to register the information he was just told. “Let’s go to the sitting room and we can discuss the list.”

Without any further pauses, Xinchun led the way out, Wenjun blindly following behind him. Not a word was spoken between them until they were seated in the room. Wenjun plopped down on one of the many plush seats that was situated around a small table, Xinchun taking the one across from him. The aid placed the scroll covered with names on the table, carefully watching his prince. It seemed as though the shock was still fresh, so Xinchun opted to wait until Wenjun was ready to speak.

Instead, Wenjun’s head was whirring by at a million miles a minute. It felt like one second ago he was in the garden with Zeren and Quanzhe throwing balls of mud at each other while they shirked their duties and now Wenjun was being asked to find a fiancee. Someone to rule the kingdom with for the rest of his life. He wasn’t ready for that yet!

“Xinchun, I can’t do this.” Was the first words uttered out of Wenjun’s mouth. “Not now, at least. I’m not made for,” he moved his hands in small circles as he tried to figure out the right words, “courting someone. I can hardly keep myself together, nevermind finding someone else!”

“That’s why you have me!” Xinchun retorted, puffing his chest out. “I’ll be your wingman! Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find someone to suit your fancy!”

Wenjun gave his aid a harsh glare, face dropping. With a frustrated groan, he abruptly stood up, running a hand through his hair. “I can’t do this right now. If anyone needs me, I’ll be down at the beach…” He grunted before swiftly walking out of the room to the sounds of XInchun’s protests.

One thing he could always rely on was the beach. It had always been like a small oasis to him. It was too small for people to regularly visit and the fisherman had better ports to run off of on the other side of the shoreline. The waves were never large and the small grotto that ran along the edge was always dazzling with the wet stone and soft sounds of the waves. It was somewhere Wenjun knew he could just escape to whenever he needed a moment to himself. On occasion, his friends would visit too, but it was rare to see them come this far down from the main castle.

Walking down to the sandy shore, he was reminded of the beautiful merman he had helped earlier. Zhengting, if he remembered the name Minghao gave him. He was possibly one of the most gorgeous creatures Wenjun had seen, even injured. He flexed his arms, remembering the weight of carrying the merman back down to the shore and the look he was given right before he left the beach. 

The prince walked down to where the water lapped against the shore. Shoes forgotten by the path down to the beach, the water reached the edge of his toes before he settled down on the sand. Hugging his knees the best he could, Wenjun watched the sun set out on the ocean. Somewhere out there was Minghao’s home and Zhengting. If anything, Wenjun had hoped the merman he helped had made it there safely. Letting out a small sigh, he rested his chin on his arms, watching the water roll in and out. The sound of footsteps behind him alerted him to the presence of someone, but he felt too unbothered to see who it was. Soon enough, a familiar presence sat down next to him.

Quanzhe settled down next to Wenjun, legs spread out and his hands supporting himself from behind. He sat there for a moment before looking over at the prince. “So, you were finally told about the whole ‘let’s hook Wenjun up’ thing?”

Wenjun looked at the boy next to him, narrowing his eyes. “You knew?”

The gardener shrugged. “To be honest, we all did. Xinchun has Dinghao, Zeren will eventually have Yanchen, Chengcheng is… well, Chengcheng. Though, he seems to have ditched the night life for Justin. Besides us, everyone else has fun, so I guess the King thought it was time to expose you to more of the world of love.”

Wenjun groaned, looking back towards the horizon. “I don’t want to be exposed to that world though. This whole thing is gonna be a mess and I’m not looking forward to it. At all.”

Quanzhe patted Wenjun’s back, offering him a small smile. “You can at least humor the King. It’s not like you actually have to choose anyone now. It doesn’t hurt to just make connections.”

“I guess you’re right…” Wenjun knew the younger was right, as reluctantly as he wanted to admit it. He was getting older as well, nearly 22 years old at this point, and it was about time he started learning about the kingdom more and making better connections. The responsibility weighed heavy on his shoulders and times like these were like a slap in the face to the prince to remind him of his status.

“I know,” the blond said easily, shrugging with a grin. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe I’m the youngest one!”

Wenjun dramatically rolled his eyes, using one hand to jokingly push away Quanzhe’s head. “Yeah, and you’re growing up too fast for you own good!” The two boys sat there and laughed before going easily slipping into conversation of more mundane topics, randomly bringing up gossip from around the castle. By the time they finished going through the random bits of drama, the sun had set over the horizon and the stars had begun to sprinkle into the sky. They eventually lapsed into silence, the only sound being the waves softly breaking into the shore.

“Have you ever wanted to just… Go into the sky? Like, escape from everything and just disappear?” Quanzhe asked softly, as if to not break the tranquility that settled around them. He held one hand out, squinting his eyes as he pretended to pinch the moon that hung low on the sky.

“All the time,” Wenjun responded with an amused snort. He sat there for a moment before continuing. “There are sometimes where I’m just really thankful to be with you guys and fact we can hang out whenever we want, but some days… I don’t know. It all feels too real, like there’s too much going on and i can’t grasp onto it all.”

Quanzhe nodded. “Yeah, I understand… I mean, I’m no prince, but sometimes I remember the world is bigger than just our castle and I get scared. Like, there are probably millions of people out there and who knows how many are suffering? We’re in there, acting like everything is okay, but sometimes I know the outside world isn’t. Thinking just becomes too much sometimes.” He brought his hands down, looking at them in his lap. The water had crept further the shore, dampening the feet of each boy. They sat there for a few more heartbeats, thinking about what they've both just said.

“Yeah, that’s why you leave the thinking Xinchun and you focus on tending the garden!” A third voice had popped in, startling both of the boys out of thought. Chengcheng had approached from behind Quanzhe and ruffled the boy’s hair, much to the blond’s dislike. Wenjun couldn’t help but chuckle, watching the two younger boys quickly divulge into a play fight, wrestling on the sand.

After Chengcheng had appeared to be the winner, successfully pinning Quanzhe down under him, he turned his attention towards Wenjun. “It’s time for dinner and Zeren said it was my turn to get you, so here I am. I wanna eat, let’s head back soon.”

Chengcheng moved to stand up slowly, but he was not expecting Quanzhe to burst up from his position below. The action made the older shout in surprise and fall back into the sand, sending Quanzhe howling with laughter. Wenjun joined in laughter too, while Chengcheng was busy dusting sand out of his hair and spitting it out of his mouth. “Watch yourself, hamster boy! Sleep with one eye open because I’ll get you back for that!” Chengcheng vowed, standing up to brush the remaining sand off him. Wenjun and Quanzhe’s laughter was soon subdued to something more manageable and they all began to head back towards the path that led to the castle, large grins on all their faces.

"One day, we'll just all fly to the moon! No more troubles!" Quanzhe declared, reaching one hand up towards the night sky. Beside him, Chengcheng snorted.

"Yeah, in your dreams hamster boy," he mocked before puting his arms around the blond's shoulders and pulling him in for a hug. "Just keep dreaming!"

Wenjun shrugged, looking up towards the sky as well. "Dreaming isn't a bad thing to do..." He said softly, almost to himself. The thought of Zhengting came into his head once more, causing a small smile to form.

Dreaming wasn't a bad thing to do at all.


	7. Ei Wo Ei Wo

Zhengting twitched awake to the sound of the door softly opening and closing. He didn’t hear any voices, but assumed that someone had come to pick him up for the slumber party, but didn’t want to wake him. Once the individual got closer, Zhengting managed to twitch open his eyes, but what he was met with wasn’t what he expected. Instead of seeing any of the familiar colors of his friends’ tails, Zhengting was meet with a glistening orange tail and someone whose face held a sly grin.

“Xikan. What do I owe the pleasure to?” The injured merman seemed to groan out, covering his eyes with on had. Xikan chuckled, sitting down on the seat beside the head of the bed. He rested one elbow on the area next to Zhengting’s head, propping his chin up with one hand.

“Oh Zhengzheng, don’t be like that! I’m here to help!” A large grin was plastered over his face. “I heard our precious Minghao went missing, so I’ve done my part to help the search!” Xikan help up a small vial, a strange swirling liquid inside. It seemed to go from a deep blue to rich purple, each of the two colors swirling around each other in an intricate dance. “I made this just for you!”

Zhengting uncovered his eyes and sat up with a small groan, looking towards the bottle. Xikan was known for meddling a bit too much in the affairs of others as well as dabbling in arts that have long been lost to common day merfolk. Zhengting guessed the bottle he had in his hand had something to do with those dabblings.

“Listen, Xikan, I really don’t need-” Zhengting began and attempted to rub away the headache that formed, but Xikan cut him off.

“Don’t you want to know who Wenjun is?” He asked, eyeing the other expectantly. Zhengting stopped any motion and stared at Xikan.

“How do you know that name?” The purple tailed merman whispered harshly, expression sharpening into a glare. Xikan threw his hands up in the water, still grinning.

“With an expression like that, I won’t tell you too much, but I will let you know I have some… Connections who might know some more than me about who this Wenjun person is and where you can find your beloved Minghao.” Xikan dramatically turned away, holding the bottle close to his chest. “But, if you don’t want my guidance, then I guess that’s fine… Poor Minghao will be stranded forever, lost to whatever is beyond our sea…”

Zhengting, lurched forward to grab Xikan, but stopped quickly, groaning in the pain that gathered from his head. He took a few moments to breathe before weakly gripping Xikan’s arm. “I-I’ll take it… I don’t care what you want from me, but I will take it and I will rescue Minghao.” He managed to wheeze out, the effects of whatever medicine Mubo gave him wearing off and the pain of his other injuries returning.

Xikan smiled with narrow eyes, dangling the vial in Zhengting’s face. “Oh no, for one friend helping out another, I’m not asking for any payment! In fact, I would like to see how well this potion indeed works. I read it from some of the oldest books on record in the castle’s library. They say it can transform a merperson into a human for as long as they wish, but it can only be used once and you’ll transform back into a merman once you reach the waters of your home.” Softly taking Zhengting’s hand off of himself, Xikan lightly placed the vial in Zhengting’s palm. “One other warning. In the texts, it spoke of a deathly side effect. If you lie while in the form of a human, by sundown that day, you will disappear into bubbles. Be cautious, Zhengting.”

Zhengting sat there for a moment, staring at the vial. It almost seemed to call out to him, urging him to take it right then and there, but after a few moments, the urge went away. Clutching his hand around it, he nodded, looking back at Xikan. “I’ll be fine. I’ll rescue Minghao and everything will go back to normal.”

“I’m glad you said that~! I have some friends on land who are willing to help and monitor you for the time while you’re human-”

“Friends? How do you have _human_ friends?” Zhengting hissed with a look of disgust plastered on his face.

Xikan frowned, looking serious for once. “Because not all merfolk have the same intense hatred for humans as you do. They helped me out when I was younger and they’re going to be helping you out now, so you’re going to have to put up with being around those humans you hate so much for some time.”

Zhengting paused, the realization suddenly hitting him. Clicking his tongue, he muttered an apology and looked away from making eye contact with Xikan. Deep down, he knew that most humans probably weren’t bad, but every time he met them, something bad seemed to happen, so it was only natural his animosity towards them would build up. Now, he would be helped by them. He would be one of them. As horrible as it may seem, Xikan was right. Zhengting would have to put up with them.

Noticing Zhengting’s mildly contemplative look, Xikan rose from where he was sitting. “For now, I assume you’d like to enjoy your little slumber party with the prince and your friends. I’ll come by tomorrow morning to get you and we can head to the shore. I added minor restorative properties to the potion, so that might help with your injuries. See you in the morning Zhengzheng!” He chirped before going out the door, nodding to Zimo as he swam by.

Zhengting once again looked down on the vial in his hand. With this, he was one step closer to finding Minghao. Zhengting refused to believe anything bad had happened to the boy, so he kept telling himself that he would find him in due time. Somehow, deep down, he knew Minghao had to be somewhere on land close by, so before he was gone entirely, Zhengting had to find him.

After a little while longer, Zhengting heard another knock at the door. Be blinked, not knowing whether or not to tell whoever was on the other side to enter, but it seems like that was the least of his worries for the moments. The door swung open to reveal Mubo and Xukun swimming in, both looking surprised to see Zhengting awake. He gave them a small wave, hiding the vial Xikan gave him behind himself.

“Zhengting, glad to see you’re awake. Zimo told me Xikan stopped by earlier, so I expected you to be asleep after dealing with him.” Mubo spoke first, examining Zhengting’s injuries once more. “He didn’t try to give you anything, did he? He spends far too much time in the libraries of the castle for him to be up to any good.” He finished with a huff, heading towards the cupboards in the corner to begin mixing something. Xukun took the seat next to Zhengting, eyeing his friend carefully.

“Nope, he just came by to check on me. He offered to make me something for my memory, but I declined. I don’t trust much of what comes from him.” Zhengting wrinkled his nose in disgust, trying his best to seem convincing. Mubo merely nodded from where he was, but Xukun continued to look at the other, trying to find any cracks in the story.

“Fair enough. Regardless, I believe this party your friends have set up is completed?” He looked to Xukun for confirmation, who nodded. “I know they’re doing it to help you recover, but please do take it easy. I’ve made some salve for you to dress your scrapes with for now and be sure to reapply later. Don’t do anything that seems too taxing and make sure you eat enough to sustain yourself. Having an empty stomach does not help the healing process.” Mubo completed his lecture by handing the salve to Xukun. “Please help Zhengting with this. Moving around too much may stress the larger wounds. I hope you can drop him off back here tomorrow morning so I can see if he is healing well enough.”

“Will do, doctor. Thank you for all your help.” Xukun answered earnestly, already helping slather on the salve to Zhengting’s back.

“Yes, thank you for your aid. I’m feeling better already!” Zhengting sent a dazzling smile Mubo’s way as the older merman began to leave, collecting Zimo who was still outside the door. “Oh, and one more thing! Reward yourself for working so hard! I’m sure Fenfen would love to finally have you back!”

The cackling laughter that came from Zimo and sputtering that came from Mubo where exactly what Zhengting wanted to hear, causing the merman to smile as he could hear the younger teasing the older one down the hall. Even Xukun next to him chuckled at the comment, shaking his head.

“For the amount of time him and Qin Fen have been going out, I’m surprised Mubo still gets embarrassed whenever someone brings it up,” Xukun commented, finishing up on applying the salve. He sat back in his chair and handed the remaining parts for Zhengting to apply himself. “So, mind explaining to me what the Xikan gave you?”

Zhengting paused before dipping his hand into the salve. “Gave me? I already said he didn’t give me anything…”

“I know you’re lying. There is no way Xikan would come by for just a visit without trying to push something on someone and I know you’re desperate.” Xukun fixed a hard stare on Zhengting, who tried his best to avoid the gaze. “Do I have to use my princely command to make you tell me?”

Zhengting snorted, putting the bottle down. “First off, we both know that won’t work on me. Second off… He just wants to help. Don’t worry about it…”

Xukun rose sharply, slapping his hands down on the bed, arms on either side of Zhengting. He stared directly at the older merman, locking eyes and placing their faces close together. “Zhengting, you were missing for three days last time before anyone found you. And, when we did find you, you looked like you were about to die, so excuse me for being concerned. I know Justin’s important to you, but you’re important to us! So if you’re gonna go do some dumbass idea, you better let me know now before I throw you in the dungeon to make sure you don’t even leave this damned castle!”

Zhengting shrunk back slightly as Xukun’s voice got louder, the dull throb coming back in his head. He looked down, lips forming a small pout as Xukun finished. Slowly, Zhengting reached for the small vial from behind him, clutching onto it to make sure the other didn’t take it away. “H-He said he knows some humans who can help look for Minghao… He gave me think so I can temporarily turn into a human and help look-”

“That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Zhengting, do you hear yourself right now? Turning into a human? Getting help from humans? Trusting his potion? It all sounds fake to me. He’s just using your grief as a test subject. Now, hand it over.” Xukun offered out a hand.

Zhengting shrunk further back towards the wall and away from the prince. He held the vial close to him, shaking his head. “I don’t care if he is! If this works even for a day, I could come closer to finding out where Minghao is! If he was taken onto land, this would be the best way to find something out!”

“And what if he’s dead, huh? What then? And what if during your little investigation you die too? No one will know and you both will be gone. I know you care for Minghao and everything, but don’t you think you’re going too far at this point? There’s a million different ways you can find something out and this doesn’t have to be one of them. Now hand it over!” Xukun leaned closer towards the cowering merman, refusing to give in. Unfortunately, the angle he was going for was lost on Zhengting, who started to hyperventilate, body shaking.

“Y-you don’t know anything… You were born in the lap of luxury, as the only son to the king… You didn’t grow up in a poor outer village, you didn’t watch your friends and family get killed around you, you didn’t have to deal with all the looks and whispers about you because you came from so far out… You don’t know what we went through! What Minghao and I have gone through can’t be overwritten by everyone! I promised his parents I would take care of him and watch over him. Damnit, Xukun, if I’ve failed them this badly, then maybe I do deserve to die up there, but trying is the least I can do right now!” Zhengting looked up at the prince. His expression was warped with sadness and pain, heartbreak visible on his face. His whole body was quivering, but Zhengting kept a firm hold on the vial. “You just would never understand…”

Xukun, backed away from Zhengting, turning his back towards the other with an exasperated huff and running a hand through his hair. His tail fin flicked back and forth in irritation as Zhengting refused to relent. “Tell them to have the party without me. I have other stuff I need to do.” Came his cold response over his shoulder before quickly leaving the room with Zhengting inside it.

The older merman as scrunched up into the corner, holding his tail close to himself and shaking, never before seeing the other that mad. Xukun had been one of the first people Zhengting met when he arrived here and they grew close naturally, but that was a side of the prince Zhengting never wanted to experience again.

After a while, he heard the door knob turn. “Hello? Kunkun is he-” The door opened wide to show Linong outside, looking confused. He glanced at Zhengting, who had scooted to the edge of the bed, and then around the room. “Where’s Xukun?”

“He left…” Zhengting replied, his voice sounding hollow. “He’s mad at me now… He said to have the party without him.”

Worried, Linong swam over to Zhengting and swept him up in a hug. “But you guys are such close friends… Fighting like that isn’t good…”

Zhengting shrugged, softly hugging Linong back. “I know he’s concerned for me, but I’m not a kid anymore. I can fend for myself. He just doesn’t get it.”

Linong smiled sadly and nodded, softly taking Zhengting’s hand. “We can talk about it more with the others and maybe find a solution? C’mon, they’re waiting!” He led the injured merman to another wing of the castle, filled with rooms that are typically saved for guests and important figures from other kingdoms. At the end of one of the many hallways was a decent sized room, but now it was crowded with Zhengting’s friends.

The main bed had been moved into the corner and any of the fancy furniture had either been pushed off to the side or taken out of the room completely. There had been a large collection of pillows placed in the center of the room along with various blankets strewn about. To one side, Linkai and Ziyi were working on what looked to be a pillow fort, while Yanjun and Zhangjing were flirting while checking the fluffiness of some of the pillows on the other side of the room. Linong immediately crashed into the fort that was attempting to be made, laughing loudly as he did so.

“I got the merman of the hour!” He shouted with a laugh, pointing to where Zhengting stood by the door, alone. He gave a small wave.

“Ting, you’re back!” Zhangjing quickly swam over to give him a hug as well, Yanjun following behind him at a slightly slower pace, but a warm smile all the same.

“Where’s His Highness?” Ziyi seemed to pick up on Xukun’s absence immediately, looking around for the prince.

“Probably off pouting in his room! He and Zhengting got into a fight, so he left.” Linong supplied helpfully from his position in the middle of the former fort, lifting his head up. Ziyi nodded, going over to Zhengting and placing one hand on his shoulder.

“I hope you can forgive him. He’s very protective of you, so I think his emotions are just running pretty high right now.” Ziyi explained softly with an understanding look on his face. Zhengting couldn’t help but nod, tucking a piece of stray hair behind his ear.

“I know this, but I’m even older than him! I should be the one worrying over him!” Zhengting let out a small huff, placing his hands on his hips. “Besides, I have a full set of great abs! He almost has one!” This caused the rest of the boys to dissolve into laughter at the comment, shouting out in agreement. “Besides, he’ll come around eventually. I’m sure he will.”

“Yeah, he gets in those mood sometimes and you can’t do anything until he’s out of them. Just like a bad funk.” Linkai added in thoughtfully, casually throwing extra pillows on top of Linong. “I’m sure he’ll come around soon enough.”

“For now, he’ll just have to miss all the fun we’re having!” Zhangjing said with a smile, clapping his hands together. “Let’s begin with food!”

Soon enough, the whole room was lit up with laughter and jokers, the six boys all going after one another good naturedly. They were noisy and obnoxious, but Zhengting hadn’t felt this at home in days. Even before Minghao was taken, he had been feeling especially nervous with the series of shows they had. Now, a long overdue break was taken, and for just a moment, Zhengting could take a step back in breathe.

Though he couldn’t do everything the others did, like joining in on a sudden pillow fight between Yanjun and Ziyi, or eat every bit of food Zhangjing gave him, or take a sudden lesson in rap from Linkai, Zhengting still felt the love and care from everyone around him. It was a warm and fuzzy feeling that settled deep his heart and spread throughout his body. It continued throughout the night as the boys were loud and without a care in the world. The room they were in blocked them from anything that may have harmed them outside and the pillows offered endless comfort. Their voices bounced around the walls were energetic and happy, seeming to light the room up on its own.

The more he thought about the next morning, though, the more a little bit of guilt gnawed away at him. Zhengting was going to leave them all with little to no warning to the rest of them. They were his closest friends and he knew what he was about to do would make them worry even more. Making up his mind, Zhengting sat back and watched the others playfully interact with each other, occasionally jutting in with a teasing comment of his own.

Eventually, even the shimmer from the light stones seemed to dim are they got late into the night. Zhangjing and Linkai were slumped against each other asleep, Linong not too far from them. They all rested on a small mountain of pillows that seemed to nearly swallow them whole. In the center of the room, Zhengting sat with Ziyi and Yanjun, nervously flicking his tail. Yanjun glanced towards him, lifting one brow.

“Something you want to say, Ting?” He mused, gaze level.

“You looked like you’ve wanted to say something all night,” Ziyi added, nodding in agreement.

Zhengting paused, the weight of the vial feeling heavy in his hand. Fiddling with it for a moment, he looked between his two friends. With a resigned sigh, he placed it on a pillow that was placed between them. “Yeah, it’s this.”

Curiously, Yanjun picked it up and inspected it, his face not changing expression. He passed it off the Ziyi, who looked slightly more concerned. “What… is it?”

“A potion Xikan gave me… H-He said it can change a merman into a human…” Zhengting’s voice got lower as he continued, eventually turning into a low mumble at the end. Still, the other two gazed at him intensely. “I-I’ve decided to try it. If it brings me any steps closer to Minghao, I’m willing to do it.” He could see both of the others open their mouths to argue, but the purple tailed merman rushed through his next set of words to stop them from commenting. “Please, understand that not knowing what happened to him is more painful than anything right now. Even if it only works for a second, if I could get one step closer to knowing something about Minghao, it’s worth a try for me. Please, you’ve got to understand.” He looked pleadingly towards the guards, hoping for them to understand.

Ziyi sighed and placed the vial down back on the central pillow. “You know we don’t want you to go through with this Zhengting.” Immediately, Zhengting was ready to fight back, but now it was Ziyi’s turn to silence him. “But, we know how strong your connection with Minghao is. No matter how many times we tell you no, you’re probably just going to go through with it anyway, aren’t you? You do that all the time.”

“Seriously Zhengting, you do dumb things, but this seriously takes the cake. I’m amazed you even went with this, but then again, I guess I don’t know the connection you guys have.” Yanjun threw a glance over in Zhangjing’s direction, expression softening as he watched the sleeping merman. “But I understand how desperate someone would be if their family were taken like that. I’d want to fight back too…” Yanjun looked back towards Zhengting. “So, I’m not going to stop you from going. This is your decision and you’ll just have to deal with any consequences. But, I am putting up one proposition.”

Zhengting had lit up at Yanjun’s comment. He nearly tackled the other with a hug before he paused. “Proposition? What do you mean?”

“This isn’t going to be a one day thing, is it?” Zhengtind shook his head. “Didn’t think so. So, here’s what I say: to help all of us, one of us will meet you every three days by the shore. If you miss two of the meetings, then we’ll have to figure something out to get you back. Otherwise, we can let you continue your mission. Does that work?”

Ziyi nodded to the side, crossing his arms over his chest. “I think we could work something out with that. We could take turns going to make sure he’s there.”

Zhengting stared between the two, his eyes wide. Here he was, ready to sneak out past them and leave them all behind and they were supporting him. They were even willing to help him. Zhengting, overcome with emotion, pulled the two of them close for a hug. “I’ll do it! I swear I won’t make you guys worry at all! I’ll go for every meeting and tell you everything! Ah, this is the best plan yet!”

“I still don’t like it.” Zhengting shot back from the hug and released Yanjun and Ziyi at the sound of the familiar voice. Xukun was leaning on the wall near the door, his expression still holding a hint of anger. “But I guess if we could check in on you, it’d be okay…”

Ziyi chuckled, swimming over to the prince and lazily taking his hand. “You’ve been here for most of the time, haven’t you?”

Xukun looked away, a blush on his face. “I-I just heard the last part. And I guess if you add sense to Zhengting’s idea, it will work better. I’m not saying I like it, but it’s better than what he had before!”

Zhengting smiled softly as the prince’s bashfulness. He swam over and gave Xukun a hug as well, holding their bodies close. “Thanks for forgiving me.” He whispered softly. Xukun merely snorted.

“I’m a prince. I’ve gotten good at forgiving things.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank everyone who's read this so far! As my first fic in ages, getting to nearly 400 views is incredible for me! As a celebration, if you want to see any interaction between characters in this universe, make a comment and I'll do a special chapter for interactions! It can be between anyone mentioned so far, so I'd love to see what you guys have in mind! Anyway, thank you again for reading and have a great day~!


	8. Runaway

For the first time, Zhengting woke up peacefully. He was in the large bed that had been pushed off into the corner with Linong and Linkai, after moving there with them the night before. Yanjun, who had tried to move Zhangjing, accidentally woke the smaller up and the yellow tailed merman proceeded to shout in joy at Xukun’s appearance, which resutled in both Linong and Linkai awakening as well. After speaking as a group for a bit, they had all gone to sleep with the lone three sharing one bed and the couples sharing blankets and pillows on the floor. In the morning, Ziyi and Yanjun seemed to be missing, but their respective others were still wrapped up in the blankets. Linong was slowly waking up beside Zhengting, casting a lazy smile over at him.

“Mornin’ Ting!” He greeted, waving a hand. Zhengting waved back, looking over at Linkai to his other side, who was still fast asleep.

The soft opening and closing of the door alerted to Linong and Zhengting to someone entering, but it was only familiar faces. Ziyi, dressed in his usual armor, was following behind Mubo who seemed upset to be awake as early as he was. Zhengting could hardly stifle his laughter as there were various love marks on the red tailed merman.

“Looks like Fenfen got his wish granted!” Zhengting teased immediately as Mubo came closer, wiggling his eyebrows. Mubo merely let out a grunt at the comment, doing his best to ignore it.

“Come to the edge of the bed so I can look you over…” The older grumbled, motioning for Zhengting to move past Linong. Zhengting obliged to the request, scooting over and sitting on the edge while Linong moved to wake up the remaining members who were still slumbering peacefully. 

Mubo examined Zhengting from head to tail, keeping careful attention to the large wound that graced his forehead as well as the wounds around his body. He muttered a few comments about them to himself, but he didn’t take anything to note. “How’s your wrist?”

Zhengting shrugged. “It hasn’t really been bothering me too much. I can move my hand fine.” He demonstrated by rolling his wrist in a circle, but then flinching in pain before he could even finish. Mubo shot him a glare, narrowing his eyes.

“Out of all of them, you’re always the one to try and hide the most. Don’t think I can’t see it.” He warned, taking the wrist tenderly to examine it. The purple tailed merman looked away, trying to hide his expression and refusing to meet Mubo’s gaze. “How are you feeling other than physical? Anything happen overnight?”

Linkai had shuffled forward at this point, watching Mubo. “Nothing happened last night at least! We slept for a long time and he didn’t even wake me up once! I even got him to eat dinner!” The younger looked proud of himself, grinning happily. “I made him eat more than Zhangjing did!”

“That’s not entirely true!” Zhangjing called out with a yawn from the floor, rubbing the sleep out of his eye. “I made him eat some! Which was better than none.”

“Yes, yes, all well and good, but I’d rather be hearing from the person himself.” Mubo shot a partially annoyed glance at Linkai who had spoken first. Xukun, still groggy from lack of sleep, as well as Ziyi, both came over behind the doctor.

“I’m fine, really. Being around them helped.” Zhengting smiled softly, looking sincere. “They always know how to help me up.”

“Zhengzheng!” Zhangjing had come over to give Zhengting a hug while his other side was occupied with a hug from Linkai. Zhengting laughed and tried his best to reciprocated it, spreading his arms out wide. Linong had come over and hugged the three of them from behind, squeezing them all together.

“Kunkun, you join too! And Ziyi!” Linong called with a smile. “It’s a group hug!” Albeit a bit reluctantly, the other two joined the hug with the others, Mubo backing away to give them space.

“With the way you all are acting, it’s like you’re never going to see each other again!” He commented with a snort. The doctor crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke next. “He seems to be doing better than yesterday. His wrist is obviously still tender, but it does seem as though the lacerations have healed enough to where they offer little threat of reopening. I’m saying you’re better, but still remember to not overwork yourself. Stay in bed today and getting rest is the best.”

Zhengting blinked from his position in the group hug, trying to take in the information. “Got it!” He chimed before watching the doctor swim away, muttering to himself about something. The boys waited a minute more before releasing Zhengting from a near-death grip.

“Are you really going through with this?” Xukun asked, gaze intense. Zhangjing, Linkai, and Linong had been quietly informed the night before about Zhengting’s plan and they seemed to support him, but a question hung in the air no one wanted to ask. Will it work?

Zhengting stared back, his own gaze steady and determined. “Yeah… I am. I’m gonna get Minghao back.”

“I’m glad everyone’s here to support you in that case!” The chipper voice of Xikan came from the door. He gave a wave to the group with a smile on his face. “If we’re to make it to the shore in time, we’d best be leaving soon. Don’t want to run late, now do we?”

Zhengting shook his head, leaving behind the others on the bed. “You guys stay here. It’ll be too noticeable if we all leave at once. I promise to take it safe, so don’t worry about me!” He ended with a large smile on his face, giving the other a thumbs up.

It was easy enough to see the protest that wanted to come from everyone present, so Zhengting quickly turned around and swam towards Xikan, trying to block out the hurt in his heart. Behind him, he heard the calls of the others, mixes of farewells and good lucks, all laced with concern for the purple tailed merman. He gave them a good natured smile and wave before going out the door.

Outside, Yanjun was in his own full set of armor, waiting by the entrance of the castle. He held his trident high parallel to his body and kept a cold expression on his face. He watched Xikan and Zhengting swim on and gave them a curt nod. “Good morning. I shall be your escort for the day.” His words were cold and clipped, typical of a guard.

Zhengting tried his best to stifle a laugh while Xikan smirked, running a finger under Yanjun’s chin as they went by. “Thank you Mr. Big and Strong soldier!” He cooed, chuckling to himself as he did so. Yanjun didn’t even so much flinch as the other touched him, keeping an expressionless look on his face. The three of them headed towards the West Gate in the early morning sun, the faint stirrings of the city just starting. 

Yanjun swam up to talk to the guard on duty as Zhengting wrapped his arms around himself and kept his gaze fixed on the ground. His body still held some aches and part of him was yelling to go back to the castle and rest until he was fully healed, but he tried to ignore those thoughts. If anything, Minghao was most likely in far more pain than Zhengting could ever imagine, and on that thought alone, Zhengting vowed to continue onwards.

“You still have it, right?” Xikan leaned in close to Zhengting’s face, blinking twice as he tried to get the attention to the other merman. Zhengting, lost in his own thoughts, was shocked and scooted back before nodding.

“Y-Yeah, I have it right here,” Zhengting help up the small vial, still full of the mysterious liquid that was in it yesterday. Xikan nodded and confirmation and began to head towards the opening gate.

Without another word between the three of them, Xikan began to lead the way towards the shore. The two kept their pace slow enough for Zhengting to follow, who was lagging behind them. The purple tailed merman could feel the extent of his injuries the further they went, his tail aching with the effort of another long swim towards shore. At one point, Yanjun stopped, looking towards the other two.

“I believe it is time we take a break.” He said evenly, glancing towards Zhengting with concern, before looking up to the sky. “We seem to be making good time, so it won’t hurt anyone to take a break.”

“I agree. Jeffrey and Yanlei said that they were going to be by the beach today anyway, so it doesn’t matter if we’re a bit late.” XIkan nodded and began to drift towards the bottom, settling with his hands behind his head.

“Are those your human… Friends?” Zhengting followed Xikan down, visibly relaxing once he touched the bottom.

“Yeah. They run a cafe called SPACE near the beach, so it’s easy for them to move there and back.” Xikan closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. “When I was younger, I was looking for some ingredients a bit too close to shore and got caught in a fishing next. I couldn’t get out and was going be fished up if they didn’t come and help me. They offered to help me get ingredients that I can’t get here, but they have on land.

“To be honest, the stuff they give me makes me think that humans and merfolk didn’t always have a bad relationship. In the library, there are a lot of books that have potions that require ingredients that I have only been able to find thanks to their help. Something must have happened that caused the divide, but I haven’t been able to find out what just yet.” Xikan opened his eyes to watch the shocked expression of Zhengting and thoughtful expression of Yanjun be directed towards him.

“B-But then why would they kill whole villages? Why would they ruthlessly attack and abduct us!?” Zhengting shot back, but it was clear he was confused. From what Xikan told him, these two humans were decent people, but the harpoons and blood coming down from above him was burned into his memory.

Xikan shrugged, sitting up. “It’s not like that’s every humans’ goal. Your village happened to have a bad group go through and bad things happened, but not every human is like that. I can promise you that much. Anyway, we should press on. We’ve rested enough.”

Quickly, Xikan escaped from the conversation, swimming back towards the water’s surface. Yanjun, who had been silent, nodded to Zhengting as he passed. “He doesn’t have the answers you’re looking for Zhengting. He can only tell you what he knows, and he knows these two aren’t like the humans who attacked you. Try to remember that much at least.”

Zhengting sat for a few heartbeats more. He knew that they weren’t the same, but that doesn’t mean he won’t meet someone who was part of the attack. His mind flipped through the possibilities of what he would do if he ever did find someone who attacked his home, but a call from the distance distracted him. Yanjun and Xikan were already a good distance away, waving towards the purple tailed merman. Zhengting got up, the aches coming back in full force once he did, and slowly made his way over his companions, trying to act as normal as possible.

*

By the time they made it to the shore, the sun had already passed it’s highest peak. Zhengting could feel the water warming up as they made closer to shore. It was pleasant on his aching body and did much better than the chillier deeps of the city. Traveling also seemed easier as they went onward, the ocean seeming to push them towards the shore. On the beach stood two figures, seeming to be in deep conversation with each other. Zhengting hung back with Yanjun while Xikan seemed to rush forward excitedly.

“Jeffrey! Yanlei! We made it!” Xikan called, launching himself up on rock that was by the shore. He waved to the two humans, who had come closer once they heard their names.

“Xikan! Great to see you again? Did you bring the new bait?” One of them rubbed his hands together with a grin on his face, but was immediately punched in the arm by the other.

“Yanlei, I don’t think now is the time for jokes.” He huffed, crossing his arms. “But is he here?”

Zhengting, who was hiding behind Yanjun, timidly poked his head around the rock Xikan was situated on and gave a small wave. “Hello…”

The taller of the two, Yanlei, seemed to light up at the sight of Zhengting. He waded partway into the water, reaching a hand out to him. “Hi there! You’re the kid who’s going to be joining us, huh?”

Zhengting immediately pouted, glaring at the human. “I’m not a kid! I’m a fully fledged adult for your information!”

The two humans shared a shocked expression at the merman’s sudden outburst. Zhengting, swam out onto the shore from behind Yanjun, pointedly ignoring Yanlei’s outstretched hand. He flinched once the barrier between the water and sand lessened and he could feel the familiar grating of sand on his scales. Yanlei, who didn’t seem to mind the hostile greeting, easily lifted the merman over his shoulder and placed him further up on the shore with a grunt. Zhengting let out a surprised squeak, squirming as he was lifted.

“You’re gonna end up here sooner or later!” Yanlei grunted, setting the merman down and cleaning his hands off. Zhengting couldn’t help the pout on his face, especially watching Xikan and Yanjun laugh at him from the water.

But, the more he sat on the sandy beach, the more familiar it began to feel. Though Zhengting’s injuries had been bothering him the whole swim there, the pounding in his head, which had dulled, was now back at full force. The soft voice of someone concerned, arms lifting him up, and the name Wenjun seemed to come out of somewhere, but he still couldn’t remember clearly. It took a moment to notice Jeffrey’s face in front of him, looking concerned. Zhengting jolted back slightly, eyes going wide.

“Are you okay? Xikan has been calling you for a bit…” He sounded worried, but Zhengting couldn't meet his eyes. Something about humans showing concern was still something he couldn’t fathom.

“Finally! So, you have to take it all in one go. It didn’t go into detail about what happens, but I’m guessing it won’t be fun.” Xikan stated from his rock, tail lazily going back and forth. He seemed mildly uninterested in Zhengting. “Just remember to stay away from your village and not to lie… Though, I don’t know how a potion will know you’re lying, but that’s what the old books say.”

Zhengting nodded before looking at the vial wearily. With one last glance towards the others who were with him, Zhengting nodded and uncapped the vial. He sniffed the potion once curiously before taking it. It smelt sickeningly sweet and Zhengting couldn’t help but scrunch his nose at it and hold it away from him. “This smells disgusting. Xikan what did you even make me?” Zhengting asked, eyeing it warily. When all he got was a shrug, Zhengting sighed. “Down the hatch…” He muttered.

The only thing Zhengting remembered next was a searing and burning pain that ripped through his body and his own screams echoing in his head.


	9. 9 to 5

The days leading up the gathering had Wenjun stressed beyond belief. Between going through the guest list with Xinchun, his usual and extra lessons, and trying to figure out what he was going to do with the mermaid who was still in a bathtub, Wenjun had just about enough of everyone in the castle. Though, he made sure that no one could tell. So, when XInchun asked him if he wanted to go to the cafe they usually frequented, it was a no-brainer that he wanted to join.

The city below the castle itself was always bustling and full of people. It was fortunate enough to be blessed with a busy port that catered to people far and wide, welcoming in products from every corner of the world. The shops nearby smelled of both local and exotic foods and the shouts of the shopkeepers were hardly audible over the sound of the crowd. It was times like these Wenjun was thankful for his height, as he was able to survey what was going on around him casually.

As they approached the small cafe by the beach, the crowd had lessened and they reached a more residential area. Some of the people politely waved as the pair went by, but otherwise they gained no attention as they walked into the cozy shop. On one side was the kitchen and drink bar while the middle had the seating. The porch was open to the view of the gentle beach down the slope and the sparkling water beyond. At times like these, Wenjun could see exactly why it was named SPACE.

“Jeffrey? Yanlei? Are you here?” Xinchun had called out from the entrance, walking into the empty cafe. When he didn’t get any response, he shouted for their names, only louder.

“Maybe they’re in the villa?” Wenjun softly suggested, wondering out back towards the entrance. “The sign does say closed for the day.”

Xinchun stood in the middle of the cafe for a moment, dumbfounded. “Oh. They probably are then. Let’s head down there!” Spirit reinvigorated, the shorter of the two led the way from the cafe down the shoreline towards the villa that rested on the cliff face. Wenjun had always believed it was a better location then where the cafe itself was located, but the owners had never bothered to switch the two.

Xinchun hopped up the front steps of the porch, knocking on the door three times. “Jeffrey! Yanlei! Are you home? I have Wenjun!” There was silence from inside the villa, but it was soon replaced by the sound of something dropping, a few curse words, and then more clattering.

Xinchun reached forward to open the door before they saw Jeffrey zip around the corner, soaked and looking distressed. Trying to compose himself, the black haired manager put on a smile as he opened the door, but placed his body in such a way that the other two couldn’t get past him.

“Xinchun! Your Highness! What a, um, pleasant surprise to see you here today! What can I do for you?” Somewhere deeper in the house, two voices bickered back and forth loudly, but the words we too muffled to properly be understood.

“Should I ask-”

“No. Please don’t.” Jeffrey cut Xinchun off with a desperate look at the pair, running a hand through his hair. “We have a friend staying over and he’s… adjusting.” This point was accentuated by the sound of more things falling and the distinct sound Yanlei’s shout

Wenjun chuckled at the comment and peeked inside while Jeffrey and XInchun spoke, trying to figure out what was going on. He could hear the two voices going back and forth from what sounded like the bathroom and a few moments later, Yanlei seemed to storm out, far wetter than Jeffrey. Wenjun coulnd’t hold back his laughter as Yanlei placed his hand on Jeffrey’s shoulder.

“Please, you go deal with him. I’ve had enough!” Yanlei quickly moved Jeffrey behind himself and gave a shove in the direction he had appeared from. Jeffrey sighed in resignation, waving towards Wenjun and Xinchun.

“As I was saying to Jeffrey! If you two could do the drinks for us, that would be a great help!” Xinchun chimed with a smile.

“I don’t know… We’ve been having more customers and it’s already hard enough to keep up…” Yanlei crossed his arms in thought, clicking his tongue as he did so.

“I mean, this could possibly get you even more customers!” When Yanlei still looked mildly uninterested, Xinchun sighed. “We’ll pay you…”

“That’s what I was looking for!” Yanlei slung an arm around Xinchun’s shoulders, effectively getting the thinner man damp. “I mean, we were probably going to do it regardless of being paid, but I know Jeffrey is way too kind to ask for payment.”

Xinchun rolled his eyes and pushed Yanlei off, stepping past the doorway. “In that case, can we go over the drinks now? We have three more days until the party, and I’d like to start building what we have left of the menu. Most of the appetizers are dealt with and the main courses, but it would be nice of the drinks could compliment the desserts in some way.”

The stress seemed to set into Yanlei immediately as he tried to shoo Xinchun out. “I’d love to, but we have someone we’re taking care of right now! They’re new to the area and I’m sure seeing the prince and his aid would be something that wouldn’t help.”

Xinchun rolled his eyes and slipped past Yanlei’s pushing, going over to plop himself down on the couch in the middle of the room. “I’m sure it won’t hurt the guy to meet the prince of the city he’s staying in. Besides, this should take us about an hour at most, so it’s better to get it over with now.”

“Using reasoning against me, as usual…” Yanlei grumbled, going over to the couch and sitting with XInchun, the two of them soon becoming serious and focused on the topic at hand. Wenjun took this as his own cue to enter the villa, sitting down in the kitchen. He settled himself to sitting in the chair while the upper half of his body rested on the table. Slowly, he felt his eyes close sleep tugging at them, until Jeffrey’s voice interrupted the soft conversation that had been lulling him to sleep.

“Hey, do you remember where we put the wheelchair?” Jeffrey’s head poked around a doorway to look into the living room, looking around. He paused before nodding to Xinchun and Wenjun. “I checked in the back room where you said it was, but I couldn’t find it.”

“Have you checked the storage room behind the kitchen?” Yanlei seemed to be focused on the topic at hand with Xinchun, pointing at some of the things that were written on the parchment. Jeffrey, who seemed to have become wetter since Wenjun last saw him, quickly moved towards the kitchen.

Wenjun shuffled his chair in so the other man could get past, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. “What do you need a wheelchair for?”

Jeffrey looked at Wenjun, pausing for a moment, then dipped into the storage room, calling back to answer. “Our guest was brought to us from an old friend. He was in… an accident recently and is having trouble walking. Until he regains his strength, we’re watching over him.” Jeffrey popped out of the room a moment later, wheelchair in tow. “Rememeber when Dinghao broke his legs? This was from back then. I thought it could be useful!”

Wenjun chuckled as he noticed Xinchun pause for moment when Dinghao’s name was mentioned before going straight back to work as if nothing happened. “Is there any way I can help?”

“N-No! I’m sure it’s fine! We’ll figure something out!” Jeffrey waved his hands nervously, a tight smile to match. Wenjun frowned, though he felt the behavior was different from what he was typically used to. Jeffrey, though often quiet and reserved, usually wasn’t this secretive.

In the distance, they were alerted to the sound of something thudding on the floor and Jeffrey abandoned the wheelchair to dash back from where he came from, Wenjun following close behind. When the reached the room, Wenjun did not expect to see what he saw at all. On the floor was a slender man in dark pants and white blouse. His legs were splayed out awkwardly behind him and he was faced down on the floor. If anything, the face that appeared before him was the most shocking part. His skin was soft and light, accented by elegant features and adorable caramel brown eyes. He was a shocking match for the merman that Wenjun saved the other day. 

“Sorry, I just wanted to try again. I thought it might have been better now the floor isn’t as slippery, but it didn’t work too well?” Wenjun could have sworn the soft voice was one of the most beautiful things he ever heard. Something about the man on the floor in front of him tugged at every heartstring Wenjun thought he didn’t have. “O-Oh! You guys have guests over? My bad...” The man on the floor laughed awkwardly before trying to push himself up into a sitting position. He was able to sit up gracefully, but his legs laid lame underneath him. Jeffrey was helping the man back into the bed he most likely came from, looking back at Wenjun.

“Can you get the chair? I left it in the hallway.” Jeffrey set the man down on the bed and began talking to him softly, though it looked more like a father scolding his child than two people talking. Wenjun nodded and moved to get the chair, not saying a word as he passed by Xinchun and Yanlei.

When he entered the room once again. Jeffrey was wearing a mildly irritated expression and the other man was pouting indignantly. Wenjun couldn’t help but laugh at the situation, likening it once more to a father and child arguing. Their attention was turned to him as he wheeled the chair in, waving softly.

“Ah, I didn’t introduce myself before. You can call me Theo!” The man, now named Theo, stuck one hand out awkwardly, his arm straight and stiff. Wenjun chuckled once more, taking the offered hand softly, as if it may break, and shaking it.

“You can call me… Bevan. Please to meet you, Theo.” From the side of the room, Wenjun could feel Jeffrey roll his eyes. Since he was adopted as heir to the throne, Wenjun was always avised against giving his real name out to strangers and often used his alias, Bevan, when meeting new people outside the castle. 

“Bevan… That’s an interesting name. I like it!” Wenjun felt his heart flutter as the other said his name and it only escalated when Theo smiled. “Ah, while I have you here, do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Sure, go ahead.” Wenjun swallowed nervously. He didn’t know where the feeling came from, but it didn’t seem to be going away any time soon.

“Um, have you heard anything about someone named Minghao? He’s like a brother to me and he’s gone missing…” Theo awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, looking shy and nervous.

“C-Can’t say I have…” Wenjun fumbled over his words, pausing for a moment. The prince couldn't find the ability to speak about anything else, so he instead bowed as he quickly left the room and fled towards the living room. The feeling heat rush towards his cheeks was something he wasn't used to and hoped it wasn't too noticeable. Wenjun noticed that Yanlei and Xinchun seemed to have finished their conversation, taking much less time than an hour, as they were standing and speaking casually in the middle of the room.

“Oh, hey, we just finished-” Xinchun was cut off by Wenjun grabbing him by his arm and dragging him out of the room, bidding a rushed farewell to Yanlei, and finally pausing outside at the halfway point on the trail that ran between the cafe and villa.

“Sorry, I just…” Wenjun paused to catch his breath, letting Xinchun go. “The guy they have in there is very attractive and I didn’t know what to do anymore, so I ran away.”

Xinchun stared at Wenjun for a few moments before bursting out in laughter, nearly doubling over. The taller male couldn’t help but roll his eyes and wait impatiently while his aid finished his laughing fit. Eventually, Xinchun seemed to calm down from himself, wheezing as he tried to make up for the loss of air.

“So, what you’re telling me, is that you fell in love at first sight with some random guy Yanlei and Jeffrey are helping out?”

“Yes.”

It took only a moment for Xinchun to start laughing again, though not as intense as the first time. He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye, continuing back down the path towards the cafe. “I think we need to get you out more often, Wenjun. You’re too sheltered!” Wenjun was about to speak back, but XInchun continued. “If you’re that smitten with him, why don’t you invite him to the party? I’m sure you can get to know him better there.”

Wenjun stared at his aid for a moment, blinking a few times. “Maybe that’s not a bad idea…” And it was at that point, Wenjun thought that maybe the party wasn’t going to be such a terrible thing after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, one month of working on this! Wow, I'm just hitting personal milestones everywhere, haha. Again I'm super thankful for everyone who's reading this and I hope you all can enjoy it! I love reading your comments and hearing that you all are enjoying this as much as I enjoy writing it. Here's to the rest of the plot I have vaguely planned out!
> 
> P. S. Using fake names is a terrible idea and you should never do it


	10. Open Your Love

Zhengting laid in the bed provided to him from Jeffrey and Yanlei and let out a sigh. It was softer than anything back in the city and the blankets they provided him cocooned Zhengting in a warmth he hadn’t felt in years. He thoughts flicked back to his day so far and he couldn’t help but cast another glance at where his tail once was, now replaced with a pair of useless legs.

_Zhengting felt as though his body was being thrown into the sun itself. He couldn’t hold back any of the screams that escaped him, the pain unbearable. He could feel the faint presence of hands on him, holding his body down, that didn’t stop him from writhing in the sand. His tail felt as though someone was taking it and splitting it in half with a dull knife ever so slowly. He could practically feel every cell he was composed with from his waist down was suddenly bursting apart and coming back together. Besides some screaming, there were some questionable noises that also came from him, but it would hardly audible under his shouting. At one point, the pain was just so intense, he couldn’t do much else than black out on the sand._

_When coming to a what felt like a few moments later, Zhengting was greeted with the worried faces of the two humans, the cool feeling of waves washing over him, and the harsh sound of Yanjun’s scolding Xikan. The initial pain had subsided and now all he felt was a dull throb and general numbness in his lower half. Looking down, he noticed a piece of cloth had been draped over most of him, but there was something peeking out at the bottom._

_“Wh-what are those?” Zhengting asked, pointing down towards the odd protrusions coming out from under the cloth._

_Yanlei had snorted in response. “They’re feet, kid. Your feet.”_

Zhengting wiggled said feet in his bed looking down at them. Since he gained his new legs, he hadn’t been able to do much with them. Unlike his tail, these new legs refused to obey his command for movement and remain uselessly attached to him. Slowly throughout the day, he had begun to gain feeling of them from the bottom up. The legs were hard to use, much harder than swimming with a tail, and had relied on one of the two humans hauling him around on their backs to go anywhere. Trying to clean the sand off of himself was the worst, though. That had led to the worst part of the day in a bath and a shouting match between the three.

Time and time again, Zhengting had tried to stand or even walk to some degree, but it typically ended with him falling one way or another, creating a mess of various things in the bathroom. Even on drier ground, like the hard wooden surface of the room he now resided in, the result wasn’t much better, as he was able to take a shaky step forwards before ungracefully meeting his face to the floor. It was at that time when Zhengting had met the mysterious visitor.

He was tall and awkward, as if he were a child stuck in the body of someone much older. Zhengting couldn’t think of how the visitor, Bevan as he introduced himself, was a very interesting person. He smiled to himself as he recalled the shy greeting Bevan gave him before watching him nervously scoot out of the room. Though, no matter how interested Zhengting was, he wasn’t the person he was looking for. He needed to find someone named Wenjun and get Minghao to freedom as soon as possible.

Zhengting glanced at the wheelchair next to his bed in the dark room, thankful they were able to procure one. Earlier, he had used to get around and inspect the villa. It turns out Jeffrey and Yanlei used to have workers from their cafe live there, but over time, most of them had moved out or gone on to different jobs. Zhengting was grateful for that much, as he didn’t have to describe himself and his situation to every person he came across in the house. Instead, the next day they would be down in the cafe where Zhengting would be helping customers while the two owners worked on preparations for some party the day after.

With another sigh, he tried once more to fall asleep, bringing the blanket up close to his face and burying himself in it. Tomorrow would be when the search for Minghao would really start. Zhengting just knew he would find something.

*

The next morning came sooner than he wanted. Jeffrey had lightly woken up the former merman, saying the three of them would eat breakfast before going down to the cafe to open shop for the day. Zhengting, who had never been a morning person in the first place, merely groaned in response and slumped further into his covers. It wasn’t until later when Yanlei had come in and ripped the blankets off Zhengting had he actually awoken and settled into the wheelchair to get himself breakfast. With a bit of difficulty, he managed to roll himself into the kitchen area, staying to the side.

“So, I don’t know what you merpeople, or whatever you call yourselves, eat, but I can guarantee that my tomato and eggs will be some of the best you’ve ever eaten!” Yanlei was standing in front of what looked like some sort of heating apparatus. Zhengting slowly rolled himself forward, examining it.

It was hard and black with what looked like wood that sparked deep oranges and yellows on the inside. There was a significant temperature difference between where Yanlei was and where Zhengting had been moments before. He quietly watched the fire before looking up. “What’s that?” He asked softly, pointing towards the inside.

“You mean the fire?” Yanlei shifted his stance to partially move the curious male out of the way. “It’s hot so don’t touch it, first of all. Second of all, it’s needed to cook a lot of stuff. It makes things… Hot?” He seemed unsure of his own description, tilting his head slightly.

“This is what fire actually looks like!?” Zhengting couldn’t help but watch it intensely, the colors dancing in front of his eyes. “I’ve read about in books before, but I’ve never seen it myself…”

Yanlei rolled his eyes and moved away, moving the food he was cooking to another pan and pulling plates down from the cupboards. “Great, we’re stuck with someone who can’t walk and doesn’t know the basics of the world. Looks like we’re raising a child!” He ended it with a good-natured laugh, rustling Zhengting’s hair as he walked by. Zhengting, on the other hand, couldn’t help but pout.

“We don’t learn much about the surface world, so sorry if don’t know much!” He wheeled into the attached dining room, pulling up the the edge of the table where one chair was moved to make space for him. Jeffrey had come in at this point, cheeks flushed pink from a morning run.

“What’d I miss?” The manager took a seat across from Zhengting, nodding good morning to him. Zhengting reciprocated the nod and narrowed his eyes at Yanlei.

“I was called a kid because I didn’t know what fire was!” Zhengting kept his glare up at Yanlei placed a plate of food in front of him, refusing to back down. “We can’t exactly have fires underwater after all!”

Jeffrey chuckled, softly thanking the chef as he got his own plate of food. “I mean, while you may be a fully fledged adult back at your home, the environment up here is much different. You’re basically at the level of a child with how much you actually know about the world.”

“See? I just didn’t put it as nicely!” Yanlei sat down with a victorious smirk, starting to shovel the food in his mouth. “Besides, you should eat your food. Then you’ll see who exactly you’re talking back to!”

Zhengting stared at the plate before him. He hadn’t eaten much the day before and his stomach growled at the scent of the eggs, but the nagging in the back of his mind said no. Picking up the fork, the former merman poked at the food a few times, watching it jiggle ever so slightly. He stared at it a moment longer to see Jeffrey and Yanlei watching him. “What?”

“Are you just gonna… poke it?” Yanlei shoveled more into his mouth, continuing to talk while he chewed. “It’s perfectly safe to eat, ya know. I’m one of the best chefs in the area!”

“Yeah, with the worst manners... “ Jeffrey muttered under his breath as he eat his own by himself, being far more civilized than Yanlei. “You should try at least a bite of it. I’m sure that wouldn’t hurt.”

Zhengting glanced between the two humans before making eye contact with the food on his place once more. He paused for a moment before taking his own mouthful, eyes going wide. Soon enough, his empty stomach and pleased taste buds were urging him to eat more, the delicious food quickly filling up his stomach. He didn’t stop until his plate was empty of food, the realization suddenly dawning on him. He liked it. And it was made by Yanlei.

Slowly, Zhengting turned his attention to see the chef with a wide smirk on his face, arms crossed in front of his chest. “Mmm, delicious!” Yanlei mocked in what seemed to be an attempt at impersonation Zhengting. Zhengting felt his cheeks go red as he lowered his head, trying to hide his expression.

“It was good and I was hungry… Thank you…” Zhengting managed to mutter out, refusing to meet the eyes of the chef. Jeffrey and Yanlei shared good natured laughs before clearing off the table, Zhengting helping the best he could. He was eventually shooed out of the kitchen and told to wait by the door, which Zhengting did impatiently. He drummed his fingers on the armrests of the wheelchair, moving his feet up and down the best he could.

Jeffrey and Yanlei eventually joined Zhengting, opening the door and heading down to the cafe. Yanlei had helped by pushing Zhengting along the uneven path, keeping up an easy conversation with Jeffrey. Zhengting sat in silence, looking down at his lame legs and wishing he could do more with them. Sooner than expected, they arrived to the cafe, two people already waiting outside.

“Zeren, Yanchen! What are you two doing here?” Jeffrey had gone over to give hugs to the two who were waiting outside, seeming familiar with them. Yanlei joined suit, leaving Zhengting to awkwardly hang back by himself. The new guests didn’t seem to notice him as they lept into conversation with the others.

“Xinchun gave us the invitations for you guys, so we thought we could catch some brunch while we were at it!” Yanchen smiled down at his partner. “It’s not very often we have the same day off, so we’ve decided to make the most of it.”

Zeren nodded happily in agreement. “Yeah, everyone else seems pretty busy with the party in two days, but we’re getting today off before we actually have to work hard! Besides, you know how Xinchun gets when he’s planning something.” Zeren straightened his posture and took on an accent similar to aid. “Please deliver the invitations today. The guest list has been completed and those invited for meal preparations should be made aware today. We must cater to the needs of the many if this is to be a success!”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly like that, but you get the picture,” Yanchen managed to say after being caught in small laughing fit from Zeren’s impersonation. The shorter huffed, nudging his taller companion.

“It was totally like that and you don’t want to admit how good I am at impersonating Xinchun!”

The four of them shared a laugh while Zhengting watched from the side, envy growing deep inside him. He could only imagine his own friends back down underwater and how the air around them was the same. Being close and obnoxiously joking with each other, pretending to imitate each other… It was all so familiar, yet so far away. The brunett was lost in thought until he heard his name from Jeffrey.

“Theo? Are you doing okay?” The black haired manager had crouched down in front of Zhengting with worry etched onto his face. Behind him, the other three looked on.

“S-Sorry, I was just lost in thought!” He wasn’t wrong, but the pang in his heart didn’t soothe any as Jeffrey pushed him towards the group. “Apologies for the late introduction. You can call me Theo!” Zhengting put on his signature smile and bowed to the two newcomers as much as he could in the chair.

Zeren and Yanchen stared at him for a moment before Zeren snapped his fingers, realization spreading across his face. “Ah, so you’re Theo! Then here, this last invite must be for you!” Zeren reached into his satchel on his side and pulled out a card and handed it to Zhengting. “I was told to give this to a Theo and that these two would know who I’m talking about.”

While Zeren spoke, Zhengting read over the letter. It was an invitation to a masquerade party in two days' time held at the castle in honor of the crown prince. On the bottom was fairly neat handwriting, but seemed to be written in a hurry. ‘I know its short notice but will you have a dance with me? -Bevan’

Zhengting laughed lightly as he read, remember the lanky visitor from the day prior with a small smile on his face. He looked back up at Zeren, wearing a genuine and soft smile. “If my legs are working in time, let Bevan know I’d love to have a dance with him.”

Somewhere from behind them, Yanchen was snickering once the name was mentioned and it appeared as though Zeren was doing his best to hold back his own reaction. “Okay, I’ll be sure to let him know! And do you mind me asking what happened to your legs exactly?”

Jeffrey slid in smoothly, pushing Zhengting past Zeren and Yanchen towards the cafe. “He was in a bad accident a few days ago. A friend of ours brought him in and he’s staying with us until he can get back on his feet and find his brother.”

Yanlei slipped into the kitchen to being prepping for the morning while Yanchen and Zeren took seats at the bar. Zhengting allowed himself to be wheeled behind the counter while Jeffrey went over to where the drinks were prepared. “So, you really can’t walk?” Yanchen stared at Zhengting with interest, tilting his head to one side.

“I’ve been trying, but it hasn’t been working too well… I can feel more of my legs than yesterday though, so that mean something is going well?” To prove his point, Zhengting swung his leg from the knee down into the counter, flinching when his toe hit the edge. “I’m still not very good.”

Zeren looked around, ignoring the drink Jeffrey placed in front of him. “Looks like there still might be some time before people come in. Let’s help!” He hopped off his stool and tugged Yanchen behind him as they went around the counter to where Zhengting was.

Zhengting furrowed his brows in confusion as he tried to figure out their plan. Zeren placed Yanchen on one side of Zhengting while he moved to the other. Leaning down, he placed Zhengting’s arm over his shoulder, nodding his head to instruct Yanchen to do the same. “We’ll support you from either side and you try to take some steps forward.”

Zhengting felt himself be lifted upwards at a slight slant. When resting on the couple, it was obvious to feel the height difference between the two. He pushed himself more towards Yanchen, relying on the higher shoulders to give him more stability. Awkwardly, he lifted on knee, gingerly placing one foot down. Zhengting slowly put his weight down on it, finding himself to be stable. Slowly he tried the next leg, only to come crashing down onto Zeren, his leg giving way after a few moments.

“Hey that’s progress!” Zeren cheered, trying his best to keep Zhengting upright. “Keep going with this and you’ll be able to walk again in no time!” He slowly lowered Zhengting back into the wheelchair as the sounds of patrons could be heard in the distance. Jeffrey had come out of the kitchen, looking around.

“I didn't hear falling. Did something work?” He asked before escorting the guests to the seats, greeting them softly and handing out menus.

“Yeah! He took two whole steps!” Yanchen beamed happily, holding Zeren’s hand up. “Zeren suggested we support him while he walks so it’s not as hard on him. It actually seemed to be working!”

Jeffrey smiled, his dimples accenting his happiness. “Well, while you guys are free, how about you take Zhengting outside and try a little more? I’m sure the patio is flat enough to work pretty well!”

Zeren groaned dramatically rolled his eyes, leaning far back in his chair. “Wow, our long awaited date and we get to spend it with some third wheel who we hardly even know?” Yanchen nudged him slightly, but Zeren just laughed good naturedly. “I’m just kidding! Besides, at the end of the day, maybe we could even help Bevan out…”

Zhengting cocked his head to one side, wheeling out from behind the counter and out towards the patio. “You know Bevan? Um, if you don’t mind, could you possibly tell me more about him?”

Yanchen and Zeren exchanged glances with matching smirks on their faces before following Zhengting outside, easily going into various embarrassing stories about him, all while greeting customers who came in and out and aiding in Zhengting’s walking recovery.

By that afternoon, after the lunch rush that claimed Zeren and Yanchen's aid had ended, Zhengting found himself outside alone. He had progressed rather quickly and was now able to stand mostly on his own. There was a fence that was the perfect height for Zhengting to lean on and shimmy his way up and down it without the help of Zeren or Yanchen. His steps had gotten more confident and he was able to go longer without having to sit back down in the wheelchair. At one point, when he was on the other end of the fence from his wheelchair, the familiar feeling of trembling hit the former merman. He was about to call back towards the cafe only to see that they were all serving the final customers. Zhengting felt his legs begin to tremble with the effort of holding himself up, but the others looked too busy to help him. Zhengting resigned to letting himself plop ungracefully onto the ground before feeling two arms come around either side of him on the fence and a firm chest supporting him from behind.

“Just a few more steps. Lean on me if you need to.” Zhengting glanced up to see Bevan leaning over him. He smiled softly and nodded towards the wheelchair. Slowly, the two made their way over. His steps were small and shuffled, but they were better than anything from the day before. Bevan didn't seem to mind the shuffling, keeping pace with the former merman and lightly supporting him alongside the fence. Zhengting struggled with staying upright, but Bevan didn’t seem to mind the shorter leaning against him or relying on him for support. They had to take occasional breaks where Zhengting had lost his concentration and leaned fully back onto Bevan, his body heavy and tired from the effort. He could make out faint comments from Bevan who had given quiet support throughout the whole ordeal. All too soon, Zhengting was back into the familiar chair, Bevan wheeling him back into the cafe.

“Zeren, Yanchen, Xinchun sent me to fetch you. He has a few last minute things he needs delivered.” Bevan called out into the cafe as he entered with Zhengting. He waved in greeting to Jeffrey and waited for the other two to finish serving the final customers.

“Ah, how lame! We finally had a break too!” Zeren whined, sitting into the seat he claimed that morning and laying the upper half of his body on the bar. Yanchen walked over to take the seat next to him and placed a small kiss on Zeren’s head.

“You’ve worked hard today. We can sit around in the castle and do nothing else later, okay?” Yanchen softly whispered, which seemed to revive Zeren the littlest bit.

Zhengting smiled at the interaction, noting how soft and loving they were with each other. Behind him, Bevan snorted. “Those two have been like that since they were in diapers!’

Zhengting chuckled, looking up. “So, you’re all childhood friends then? Is that why they know so many stories?”

As if on cue, Bevan’s face seemed the pale, his gaze whipping towards his friends. “You guys didn’t! What did you say about me? I can’t believe you!”

Zeren and Yanchen had burst into laughter, Bevan scolding them from his position above Zhengting, who merely watched in amusement. They went back and forth for a while until Yanlei emerged from the kitchen since that morning.

“Hey, we’re pretty much done for the day because we’re closing up early to prep for the party. You guys can go on ahead and do whatever the aid man has to say.” Yanlei glanced at Bevan. “And let him know he can come by tomorrow to test the drinks. We’re nearly done with what he wanted, but I’d rather him check before we bring them in and he wants to pour them all down the drain. Again.” Zeren shouted in happiness, jumping up in his seat, Yanchen taking a little more time to stand up.

Bevan nodded, quickly gathering Zeren and Yanchen towards the entrance. “Will do. I’m sure he’d be pleased to hear that after the time he’s been having arranging the whole thing.” With a wave and shouts of farewell, the trio began to head back towards the town, the couple teasing the taller man.

After a few heartbeats Zhengting was sparked with a realization and quickly wheeled himself towards the entrance of the cafe, ignoring Yanlei’s curious stare. Shakily, he stood up and took a couple to steps independently. Feeling a surge of confidence, he shouted towards the disappearing group of friends. “Hey, Bevan!" The taller stopped to look back at Zhengting, cocking his head to one side questioningly. “I’d love to take you up on that offer! If you'll have me, I want dance with you during the party!”

The statement seemed to have caused some kind of reaction in Bevan as he ducked his head away from view and gave a shaky thumbs up, gaze not turning back towards Zhengting. The laughter of Zeren and Yanchen could be heard from the entrance where Zhengting stood. He laughed as well, giving his own thumbs up towards Bevan, who quickly ducked out of the walkway and back into town with Zeren and Yanchen in tow.

Yanlei walked out and wheeled the chair to behind Zhengting, who softly sat back down, not feeling as shaky as he did earlier. They stayed there for a moment before Yanlei spoke up, leaning slightly on the chair. “This means we have to get you a costume, huh?”

Zhengting chuckled, moving the wheelchair away from Yanlei and back into the cafe to where Jeffrey was waiting. “I guess so…”


	11. Hard Road

The outside of his little world was lightening up slowly but surely. For the past few days, he watched people buzz in and out, some faces becoming familiar and some had appeared and left within an instant. The room went from a dark and sparse area to one that was being adorned with golden ribbons, flowers, and various other decorations. But somehow, none of that did much to lighten Minghao’s mood.

The young merman lost track of how much time he had spent in his new "home". The days were muddled together and it was difficult to tell when one began and another ended. He spent a majority of his time stuck in the glass tank and had very few visitors. Fan Chengcheng, the son of a “very influential family”, as he put it, was Minghao’s first visitor. He had come to Minghao on the first day of his arrival and has stuck by his side ever since. As of late, the young gardener whose name he still wasn’t aware of, had begun to sneak flowers in and put them in the tank for Minghao, saying that he looked better with them. It had become some of a morning ritual, as the blond boy would throw the flowers in before rushing off to do whatever chore he had to for the day. The small things like that had made this glass hell bearable to some degree.

He couldn’t understand why, but it seemed as though most of the inhabitants of the castle seemed to be wary of the merman. Personally, Minghao didn’t find himself too different from Chengcheng or the gardener, so he couldn’t see where the trouble lied. They were only slightly older than him from the looks of it and he had felt like their attitudes were not all too different, so he never saw why people thought he was such a danger. The only other person who Minghao could recall treating him decently was the prince, Wenjun. He didn’t carry the same strong princely aura as Xukun did in the city, but his authority was quieter and more unspoken than Xukun’s. Minghao liked him.

As night had come again, the castle had gone quiet. From what the merman had gathered, there was to be a party soon for the prince, but that was all. Minghao felt as though he was to be used as a decoration, especially with the way there would be several people pointing at his tank and keeping a safe distance before referring to a piece of paper on a clipboard. He wanted to scream and tell them he wasn’t just some dumb piece of decor, but the last time that happened, he felt a shock run through the tank and awoke to Chengcheng pounding on the glass. Since the incident, Minghao had taken to swimming only at night and sitting in the corner most of the day while people were working.

Chengcheng had visited him less and less the past few days, presumably busy with the party, so his absence had left Minghao feeling hollow. He never realized how much he appreciated the other’s presence until he was appearing for only a moment or two a day. But, with Chengcheng’s absence had come another guest visit Minghao on what seemed to be a regular schedule.

As if on cue, a single man had walked into the foyer. Minghao swam to the top of the tank, doing circles around the surface. Looking down, he noticed the familiar figure stop in front of his tank and look up. He was an older human with short black hair and gentle eyes. He never spoke, but simply watched Minghao swim in the tank for a while every night before disappearing once again.

Minghao, after doing his usual few laps, had swum down to the bottom of the tank to stare back at the human. Searching his face, Minghao could only see one expression: a deep sadness had lined every aspect of the human’s body. Without thinking, Minghao raised one hand up to the glass and gave a comforting smile. He didn’t expect the human to respond, so when a hand met his on the other side, Minghao’s eyes widened with shock.

“I’m sorry to keep disturbing you like this…” Through the glass, the merman was just able to make out what the human was saying. He shook his head, smiling.

“No, no, it’s fine! You’re one of the only people to come near me anyway, so I don’t mind at all!” Minghao beamed before pausing. He held up one finger before quickly shooting himself to the top of the tank, popping out over the edge and waving to the human below. “I can probably hear you better from up here if you don’t mind!”

The human took a few steps back before craning his head back to look at Minghao. “I don’t have much to talk about…”

“Aw, that’s impossible! With all the hustle and bustle around here I feel like talking about nothing isn’t possible!” Minghao flopped one arm over the side while the other held up his head. It wasn’t the comfiest position, but he knew if he could help the human wipe away any part of his sadness, he would try. 

The human chuckled, moving to sit on the ground. “Well, yes, I can say the busy nature of the castle lately due to my son’s upcoming party is a popular talking point. I feel as though it has been a while since we last saw this much activity in the castle.”

“Your son’s party… Hold up, are you the king!? Like, Wenjun’s dad kind of king!?” Minghao covered his open mouth in shock, looking around. “Holy shit, you’re totally the king! You look nothing like Wenjun though...”

From below, Ronghao began to laugh. It was like a low rumble that bubbled up, eventually echoing around the room. “You can say that. Yes, I am King Ronghao and Wenjun is my son. Not biologically, though. That is why we do not look similar.”

Minghao tilted his head to one side, eyebrows furrowed together. “No biologically? Then how is he the prince?”

Ronghao let out a small sigh, looking down at his hands in his lap. “I adopted him after his mother passed… He’s always been a smart and kind boy and after my wife… died… Well, I simply didn’t have the heart to love anyone else. It will always be with her.” He lifted his gaze back up towards Minghao, the sad expression coming back once more. “She was beautiful, my wife. Her whole smile could light up a room and her laughter sounded like angels… She was like you, though.”

Minghao frowned, not following along. “Like me? You mean trapped in a glass box all day?”

The king chuckled. “You could say that was how she lived her life… No, she was a merperson, like you.” Minghao couldn’t hold back the gasp that escaped him as Ronghao continued. “I found her washed up on shore gravely injured. I slowly nursed her back to health until she was well enough to return back to her village, but that wasn’t the last I saw of her.

“She would come back and visit me on occasion. At least once a month, she would sneak out of her village to visit with me. I could never tell when, but after meeting for so many months, I fell in love with her. She was so different from everyone up here. Like a breath of fresh air. And by some act of fate, she had fallen for me as well. I’ll never forget the day she told me.” Ronghao paused his story to wipe away the tears that had begun to form. He took a few more shaky breaths before continuing.

“We both wanted to be together, but neither of us knew how. Soon, I found myself spending endless nights in the library, trying to figure out how we could be together.” From under the robe he was wearing, Ronghao pulled out a picture and stared down at it lovingly. “She said there was a witch in her village who could take away her fins and make her human. We were so young and so blind at the time… We had no idea what the repercussions would be…”

Minghao frowned and watched the king below him. When he thought about Xukun’s father, Minghao could only recall the loud and boisterous king, with talent for people and the ability to conduct himself to perfection. This human king, on the other hand, had a more quiet air of authority around him, much like Prince Wenjun himslf, but at the state he was in now, he seemed like no king at all. Only a man who had lost his lover. “What happened?”

“Well, we got our wish for one. The sea witch managed to help us, but she said there was a price to be paid. Someone cannot be turned into a human without a human giving up their own legs first…” Ronghao ran a hand through his short hair, letting out a frustrated sigh. “At the time, Wenjun’s mother had found out our secret and volunteered herself to go. She had only Wenjun at the time, but her lover had left her and ran off. She said she had no purpose left in this world, so she may as well go another.”

“Wait, that doesn’t make sense! All because some dumb guy ran off, she was willing to let Wenjun grow up by himself? That’s just wrong!” Minghao cut Ronghao off, puffing his cheeks up as he spoke back. “But, by the way you spoke about her earlier… She went through with it?”

Ronghao nodded. “You’re sharp. Yes, she pleaded with us to allow her to be the switch and we went through with it. Though, it didn’t work like what anyone expected. Wenjun’s mother had died on the spot, her body rejecting the elements of a merperson. Ah, he doesn’t know this, of course, so if you could refrain from telling him, that would be appreciated.

“My wife, on the other hand, completed the transformation, but was very weak. She was bedridden for most of the time she was here until her passing. In the end, the attempt hurt everyone involved. Wenjun lost his mother, my wife lost her life, and I lost myself during that time. Despite being king of a whole country, I couldn’t even cool my head enough to see where I went wrong with everything." Ronghao paused at this moment to take another long look at the picture. He sighed before putting it away and looking back up towards Minghao.

“I-I’m not sure if I should even be telling you this part but… I did send a boat out at the time to find the sea witch. I planned on making her pay for her failure of magic, for taking not just one life, but two, yet my men couldn’t seem to find her. Instead, they attacked the village where she hailed from, thinking that if it were in trouble she would come to help. From what I was told, they killed everyone they could and brought back the bodies so I could finally find my vengeance to assure her life was lost alongside my wife’s… Despite that, I believe she got away in the end.” Ronghao looked to see the furious and disgusted look of Minghao. He was ready to jump out of the tank and attack Ronghao personally, so instead he clung onto the edge and bared his teeth.

“So you mean everything is your fault! You were the one who did it! You killed my village!!” He screamed, not caring who came in or what happened. “You murderer! You fucking murderer! You took my family away from me! You are the one who gives Zhengting nightmares day after day and, and…” Minghao deflated, the sounds of guards running in the distance. His voice lowered as he looked down, body shaking. “You’re the one who ruined both of us… Everything is your fault…”

Below him, Ronghao’s eyes had widened in shock. Quickly, guards from the castle had filed in, alerted by Minghao’s shouting. While Ronghao was escorted away, Minghao felt the familiar shock fill the tank, his body jolting from the sudden surge. He felt his vision flicker as the voltage increased, eventually blacking out. But Minghao couldn’t forget the face worn by the man who sent his family to death.

*

The next morning, Minghao awoke to the sensation of movement. His eyes flittered open to see the world past him moving slowly. Above him, the top of the tank had been sealed off. With a snort, he tried to push himself up, only to find his muscles shaking and refusing to listen to him. The meman plopped down on the bottom of the tank again, staring blankly at the ceiling.

He didn’t remember much from the attack. He wasn’t that young, only 7 years old, but he could remember the screams and Zhengting covering him. He could remember Zhengting telling him that he would protect him. He could remember Zhengting screaming out in pain as one of the harpoons nicked him on his hip. Minghao never had a clear vision of what happened because of Zhengting, but in the end the older merman had been the one to pay the price. Minghao didn’t have the nightmares Zhengting did. It wasn’t a rare occasion to wake up and hear the sound of the older merman screaming or hyperventilating in his sleep. Often time, Minghao would hold him and whisper comforting phrases until Zhengting relaxed enough to go back to a peaceful sleep. It hurt the younger merman’s heart to hear him crying out for their lost parents or whimpering by himself in bed. And now he found the cause of all his pain.

He was brought to a sudden stop, water moving shifting side to side from the momentum. Minghao lifted his head to look around, realizing he was placed in a new part of the castle. It was a large hall the was decorated in deep blues, black, and gold with a large chair at one end. There were large windows along the side and pillars that held up a high ceiling. After a second, the merman realized he was in the throne room, though no one was sitting on the throne, which he was thankful for.

Soon enough, Minghao heard a familiar tapping on the glass, lighting up when he realized it was the familiar face of Chengcheng. He was carrying a bag in his arms and waved to the merman who had yet to move. Though all his muscles seemed against it, Minghao slowly got up and swam towards his friend, waving in return. Chengcheng seemed to be saying something, but Minghao frowned, unable to hear him. After a moment, he shook his head and pointed to his ears, trying to communicate he couldn’t hear. Chengcheng seemed to get the message though. He pouted slightly before something else seemed to catch his attention.

The boy who brought him flowers was coming over, ladder in hand. It was set up alongside one side of the tank, leaning against the top. First, Minghao watched the flower boy go up and walk onto the top of the tank followed by Chengcheng who then opened a small sliding door at the top. Minghao swam up to the top, moving towards the new opening.

“Morning Justin!” Chengcheng called, dropping a fish down the opening. With a smile, Minghao expertly caught the dead fish, biting into the flesh and chewing.

“Mornin’ Cheng! What’s goin’ on today?” He spoke between bites, swimming until he was right under the opening. The flower boy gave a small wave and Minghao gave a small smile and waved back.

“I told you today would be the day of the party! Geez, you gotta listen to me more often…” Chengcheng shook his head with a sigh, but smiled playfully. “Apparently, the theme is ‘underwater masquerade', so you’re the center piece for this event.”

Minghao snorted, taking another large bite from his meal. “I don’t know what they expect from me, but I’m not going to be doing any fancy tricks for them!”

“I think you’re just supposed to look nice for the guests…” The flower boy spoke up softly from beside Chengcheng. He tucked a piece of blond hair behind his ear, nodding awkwardly. “From what I heard, besides Wenjun being eligible, your presence is the next big thing that drew people. No one’s seen a mermaid in years.”

“Gee, I wonder why…” Minghao muttered under his breath, the conversation from the night before weighing heavily in his mind. He continued to dwell on the thought as the two above him continued. Eventually, Chengcheng caught the merman’s attention again, worriedly tapping on the glass.

“Justin? You doing okay bro?” Chengcheng reached a hand into the water from the opening, which Minghao reached up to grab, a tight smile on his face.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Just a bit tense.” He felt Chengcheng grab onto his hand and everything seemed to melt away. He stayed there for a moment, just feeling the hand hold his and clear his mind. When it was time to let go, Minghao was saddened by the loss of the heat and pressure no matter how small it was.

“If you say so… Quanzhe here and I need to get going, but I’ll be show to hang around you tonight at the party! Besides, someone needs to watch over you.” Chengcheng gave a small wink before waving goodbye to Minghao, Quanzhe following suit and waving in farewell as well. He even dropped in a few small flowers through the opening with a smile.

Minghao waved in return and watched them leave. Taking the flowers, which don’t last long in the salt water in the first place, Minghao brought them down to the bottom of the tank and laid them in the sand, creating his own small garden with them. If he ever were to escape, he internally promised to somehow repay both Chengcheng and Quanzhe for their kindness. Some days that was the only thing that kept him going.

Settling down on the bottom of the tank, Minghao watched servants move in and out of the room, finishing the final decorations. He moved his fin up and down, eyeing each servant who came too near for his liking. The party was tonight? He vowed to make it a party no one would ever forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Speical thanks to Ana on Twitter who gave me an idea on how to go about this chapter! I wanted this to happen for a while and didn't know how to go about it, so thank her for this chapter haha And a huge thank you to everyone who's given this work kudos! I can't believe its reached 50!!


	12. Want U (Part 1)

“Watch, watch! I can even do this!”

The sun hung low in the sky as Zhengting flipped on the beach, body arching gracefully as he did so. He landed and stumbled a bit, but then straightened himself up and held up his arms. The audience in the sea clapped politely as the former merman bowed. Zhangjing had visited with Yanjun for the first scheduled meeting to check on Zhengting’s well being. They had arrived in the late afternoon and spoke with Zhengting for most of the time.

“Wow~! Isn’t that hard to do on sand?” Zhangjing asked from his position against Yanjun. He let out a small yawn, snuggling up to his partner. Zhengting nodded enthusiastically in response, even going so far as to puff up his chest.

“It is! I had some people up here help me get better as walking and then was by myself nearly all day yesterday. I just kept pushing myself to get better and here I am now. Dancing almost feels the same as it did when I was back in the city! I’ve even been trying out my own choreography up here.”

To accentuate his point, Zhengting took a deep breath before placing himself in a starting position. He began to hum to himself, body fluidly going through the motions of the dance. His white shirt clung to his frame as he graced the water and continued his movements deeper into the ocean. The familiar tug of the water seemed to pull Zhengting in even deeper, his moves becoming similar to that of when he performed on stage back in the city. Eventually, he went back towards the shore, gracefully rolling onto the wet sand before bringing himself back up and wistfully staring towards the sky. There was the sound of splashing from the water right before Zhengting heard clapping from further up the shoreline.

“Th-that was amazing! You’re already doing so much better!” From the crest of the hill stood Bevan, outlined against the setting sun. He was already dressed in his own outfit for the party that night, dawning a dark blue and black theme. He looked like a well-embroidered pirate with a large navy hat that had a feather sticking out the top, a dark blue long jacket with gold buttons and details along the edges and black leather boots brought up over dark pants. A white shirt could be seen peeking out under where the coat opened slightly at the top. To complete the look, he was wearing gold nautical styled earrings. His mask, held in one hand, was a similar deep blue as the coat with gold trims around it and a black ribbon was loosely hanging on either side. He jogged down the beach over toward Zhengting, a large smile on his face.

The former merman looked over his shoulder to see Yanjun and Zhangjing waving before diving back down under the water and going back out to sea. Zhengting gave a small wave back before turning his attention back to the visitor. He smiled as Bevan drew closer, walking himself up the beach and meeting the taller partway.

“Ah, I’m a dancer in the first place, so being able to do this again makes me extremely happy…” Zhengting tucked a piece of damp hair behind his ear and smiled up at the taller. “What are you doing here anyway?”

Bevan, whose face had turned a brilliant shade of pink, coughed slightly in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. “Um, well I ran into Jeffrey and Yanlei earlier and they told me to pick you up because they went early to set up their drinks…”

Zhengting gasped, stomping his way up the beach. “They left without me!? Those jerks! I can’t believe they would left me behind!” Bevan chuckled and followed behind Zhengting. They entered the villa, Zhengting still muttering under his breath and Bevan following behind him, eyes trying to go anywhere other than the soaked man in front of him.

The shorter of the two first went into the bathroom to dry himself off, a sensation he didn’t particularly enjoy but Jeffrey had told him it was necessary now that he was a human. He rustled his hair and stripped off the wet clothes, placing them on the edge of the tub to dry fully. With the towel still atop his head and drying his hair, Zhengting made his way towards his room to change.

“Theo, I was- Holy shit, I’m so sorry!” Bevan had popped around the corner into the hallway Zhengting was walking through to get to his room. His face had turned a deep shade of red once he realized the lack of clothes Zhengting had on and he ran back into the living room to wait. Zhengting just stared back blankly before blinking a few times, tilting his head.

“What’s wrong? ” He called out, disappearing into his bedroom to get ready. Opening the small closet Jeffrey had provided him, Zhengting had begun to take the clothes out they got him for the party the day before. He tried to his best to listen to Bevan as he prepared everything.

“W-Well, I didn’t mean to intrude on your privacy like that! I should have stayed out here and waited for you...” Bevan shouted from his position on the couch. Zhengting couldn’t help but chuckle as he pulled his shirt over his head, straightening it out. He fixed some accessories in place before pulling on his pants as well, securing them in place with a belt.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it!” Zhengting paused for a moment, looking at one of the last elements of his outfit. “Hey Bevan, do you think I could go in without shoes? I don’t like how they feel on me…”

His question was met with an equally confused response. “Uh… You might want to walk in with them at least? Just so they don’t kick you out for not wearing any shoes.”

The former merman groaned in response before pulling the constricting shoes onto his feet and tying them in place. He went over to the mirror that was on his desk, tugging and adjusting himself until he knew it was as perfect as he could get it. With a satisfied smile, Zhengting hid behind the wall between the hall and living room, giggling softly. “Are you ready, Captain Bevan?”

There was the sound of rustling, Bevan most likely sitting up from whatever position he was in, and a strong response. “As ready as I’ll ever be!”

Zhengting laughed again as he spun into the living room, opening his arms to present himself. “Dan dan daaa! How do I look?” His outfit wasn’t as ornate as Wenjun’s, but it certainly got the point across. Zhengting wore a silky white button up blouse that was partially unbuttoned at the top. The sleeves cinched at his wrists with matching white ribbons, the excess ribbon dropping down from where they were tied. His pants were a light lilac color and were tight on his body, accenting the strength of his new legs. The belt they were tied with had several layers of a different layers of purple fabric attached to it on either side. The top was a fine netting to mimic the appearance of scales and under it were various textures of purple, creating a gradient effect with shorter and lighter fabrics at the top and darker, longer fabrics towards the bottom that moved outwards when Zhengting twirled. On his feet were a pair of white ballet style shoes with ribbons that were cross crossed up the bottom of his pants before being tied into a bow halfway up his shins. His own mask was simple enough, following with his purple look, the main fabric was the same light lilac as his pants and it was adorned with simple things such as pearls and small shells. His hair wasn’t anything special as well, as it was still slightly damp from his earlier performance in the water. Drier parts had begun to fluff up slightly, adding a slightly whimsical touch to him.

“Y-you look gorgeous…” Bevan murmured softly, taking in Zhengting’s whole look. He walked forward slowly, taking one of Zhengting’s hands in his own and going down on one knee. He brought Zhengting’s knuckles to his lips, giving them a gentle kiss. “I would be pleased to dance with someone such as you.” He peered up from under the rim of his hat, judging the expression of the other.

Zhengting had his own light blush, but it was mostly hidden by the mask. He smiled back, leaning down to bow, he nose touching the top of Bevan’s hat. “Thank you for giving me the chance. I’d like to dance with you too…”

Bevan looked up at Zhengting, his head leaning back until their noses were almost touching before a flustered Zhengting looked away, sharply turning his back on the taller in order to ignore the feeling in his cheeks. “D-Don’t you think we should get going?” The former merman stuttered, trying to hide his expression. He heard a chortle from behind him and and arm wrap itself around his shoulders.

“Should be bring the wheelchair just in case? Don’t want you overworking yourself too much.” Bevan’s face popped up close to Zhengting’s, a lazy smile on it. Zhengting merely sniffed in response, walking towards the door.

“I’ll be fine! Just you watch!” Came his haughty remark before the two made their way towards the castle.

*

“Bevan, I’m tiiired!” Zhengting whined as he leaned on Bevan's back, arms wrapping around the shoulders of the taller in an attempt to get some support. His legs felt weak and tired, almost like when he was first learning how to walk. He dragged his feet as Bevan chuckled and continued to walk forward.

“Sorry Theo, you’re the one who wanted to leave behind your wheelchair. Besides, we’re nearly there anyway.” Bevan reached behind himself amd ruffled Zhengting’s hair, more of it dry and puffing up into soft curls. “Just look around!”

Around the duo were people coming from all walks of life. Though not everyone was invited inside the castle, there still was a lively party outside for the average people of the town. In the main square, bright and cheery music played and people were noisily going around, laughing and dancing. There was shouting and the clanking of pitchers as people had begun to drink the night away. Lights dangled across the square they were currently walking through, giving the whole area a magical glow to it. Zhengting’s eyes widened as he examined the area, moving from Bevan’s back to holding onto his arm in order to not get separated.

“Wow… I’ve never seen anything like this…” The former merman whispered over the din of the townspeople, squeezing the other’s arm. “It all looks like so much fun…”

“It’s better when there’s a festival. It’s like this except there aren’t any prissy people filling up the street.” Bevan responded playfully. Zhengting covered his mouth in mock surprise, playfully hitting the taller’s chest.

“Bevan! You can’t say that! They’re right there!” Zhengting accentuated his point by whispering the last part in Bevan’s ear, going on his tiptoes to rely the message, and pointing at a group of intricately dressed females. The two shared amused expressions before bursting out in laughter, leaning on each other for support. Once they got to the gate, Zhengting unlatched himself from Bevan’s arm, giving him a concerned look. Since they entered the main part of town, the taller had been looking distracted about something, gaze wandering back and forth endlessly.

“You look worried. Do you want to go in separately? I’ve noticed some of the looks too...” Zhengting tilted his head to the side, looking over Bevan’s face. Though his mask was secured, the taller still looked nervous and shaky. The former merman had seen some of the glares the two together had gotten and could easily pick out the hate behind them.

Bevan sighed, taking his hat off to run one hand through his hair. “No, it’s not that… It’s just that I think I forgot my invitation.”

Zhengting paused in his step, getting several guests behind him grumbling angrily. He ignored the pushes around him and scooted slightly closer to Bevan. “So should we go back to your house to pick them up?”

Bevan shook his head, putting his hat back on. “No, I’m fine on my own. You head inside and sit down. We’ve walked a long way. It’d be best for you to go sit down for a bit.”

“But-” Zhengting was ready to fight back before a particularly hard shove sent him stumbling forward into Bevan’s arms. His legs collapsed under him once he was braced against the other. Quickly, Bevan scooped Zhengting up and brought the two of them over to the side of the crowd, muttering apologies to those he bumped into.

There was something familiar about him being carried by Bevan. Zhengting couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but the feeling of his arms and chest were something the former merman knew he felt before but he had no idea from where. Eventually he was placed down on a small wall on the outside of the square, right outside the gates. Bevan looked around, putting his hands on his hips.

“Stay here and rest for a bit, okay? I’ll meet you inside after I get my ticket.” Bevan didn’t give chance for Zhengting to respond before he waved and disappeared back into the crowd, his feather peaking out among all the heads in front of him.

Zhengting watched the taller disappear before sighing slightly, looking down at the ground. His legs still lightly throbbed for their over exertion, but overall he didn’t feel as sore as he did the first day. He looked around at the crowd, feeling slightly overwhelmed from even moving from his spot. The thought for waiting for Bevan to return flashed through his mind, but he soon realized that he would most likely go right back into the castle without going back to this part of the square. Zhengting sighed and shakily got up, finally making his choice to move back towards the castle. Before he could move from his position, Zhengting couldn’t help but notice someone in the crowd that seemed to be moving in his direction, against the flow of most of the crowd. He tried to ignore the feeling and started towards the gate, watching the blond head divert his path towards Zhengting once more.

Alarmed, the brunette quickened his pace, trying to get through the crowd the best he could. After getting past the gate, the crowd had lessened slightly, which made Zhengting even more nervous. He had to pause by the side of the path for a bit to let his legs rest before he continued onward. It didn’t take long for someone to pop up next to him, looking slightly nervous.

“A-Are you Theo?” The small blond boy asked, looking up at Zhengting from under his bangs. Zhengting paused before nodding wearily, eyeing the boy who lit up at this response. “Oh, great! Wen- I mean, Bevan, sent me out to find you and help you into the castle! I work here and I met him on his way back inside.”

Zhengting furrowed his brows in confusion. “On his way back inside? He said he was going home to get his tickets…”

The blond shared his own look of confusion. “Tickets? Why would he need tickets for his own party?”

Zhengting paused for a heartbeat, taking in what the smaller boy had said. The crowd around them had thinned at this point to a few last-minute joiners who were making their way inside. As the silence spread between them and hung heavy in the air until the blond’s eyes widened and he covered his mouth.

“Oh no… I probably wasn’t supposed to say anything about that…”

“So you’re telling me this Bevan guy has been lying to me and he’s actually the prince of this whole fucking country!?” Zhengting hissed, leaning in close to the blond. The boy nodded, shying away.

“I-I’m sorry, I thought you already knew about it… H-He uses Bevan as nickname outside of the castle… I mean, he’s really Bi Wenjun, prince of the kingdom. I’m sorry…” The blond seemed to shrink back even further as Zhengting’s anger continued to build and mumbled along his half hearted explanation. Eventually, the taller of the two let out a tense breath, relaxing.

“No, this isn’t your fault. I shouldn’t be mad at you.” As if on cue, Zhengting put on his clasic angelic smile, hugging the boy close and seeming to go for a whole shift in personality. “I should be thanking you for telling the truth. I know it’s late, but do you mind me asking your name?”

“I-It’s Quanzhe. Nice to meet you?” Quanzhe phrased the last part as a question, unsure of how the situation was really going.

“Yes, it was very nice to meet you.” Zhengting said with an affirmative nod of his head. With a new sense of resolution in his mind, Zhengting began to stride up the path to the castle. After a few moments, Quanzhe began to scramble after him, trying his best to keep up. They entered without a hitch, Zhengting passing in his invitation and the guards letting the other boy in without batting an eye.

“W-well, I have to go now. Um, I truly am sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to out Wenjun like that… Please don’t judge him too harshly for hiding himself, I think he just wanted a friend who treated him normally.” Quanzhe implored, looking up at Zhengting with an expression that was equal to that of a puppy dog. Zhengting smiled and ruffled his hair, tilting his head to one side.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure everything will work out just fine between us,” Zhengting reassured Quanzhe with a nod. Feeling better, the younger boy nodded and began to leave, heading towards another wing of the castle.

“Okay! I’m gonna keep you to that. If you head straight down from here, you’ll get to the main hall, where the party is. It looks really cool in there! They even have a live merman you can see!” Quanzhe waved in farewell before dashing off, disappearing into one of the many hallways.

Zhengting smiled to himself, the last comment filling him with joy. “Merman, huh? I think I’ll go check that out first.” Adjusting his mask, Zhengting strode into the main room, a smirk on his face.

Entering the grand hall was spectacular. From the the top of the staircase by the doors, the room seemed to be filled to the brim with people. They were dressed in every color imaginable, and from Zhengting’s position, it just looked like a sea of moving colors swirling around each other. One corner held the small orchestra that was playing music that managed to just hardly be heard over the sounds of the guests.  In another corner was the food and drinks, with Jeffrey and Yanlei scurrying to make drinks of all kinds for the guests who had special requests. Scanning across the area, Zhengting’s eyes quickly settled on the large tank in the middle of it all. In it sat a familiar figure that seemed to be in some sort of deep conservation with the human next to it, both of them leaning close to the glass.

“Minghao…” Zhengting gasped, biting his lip in order to limit the emotion he showed on his face. The former merman quickly made his way down the stairs onto the main floor and headed directly towards the tank.

It was difficult to make his way past all the bodies, Zhengting often getting swept up in whatever dance was happening and straying further from his goal. At one point, some random person had grabbed him and forced him to join into a dance, shouting over the music to be heard.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before. I’m Dinghao, who are you?” The boy shouted over the music, twirling in time with the beats. Zhengting tried his best to match the pace, unfamiliar with this kind of dance,

“Theo. Um, I need to get somewhere, so if you could please find another partner... “ Zhengting tried to escape, nervously looking around the room for a replacement.

“Nah, don’t worry about it! I’m sure whatever you’re doing can wait. Lighten up!” The dance had quickened pace and Dinghao laughed as Zhengting began to fall behind the pace. He could feel tiredness pulling at his legs and at this point, he regretted not taking the wheelchair with him.

“That’s enough of that!” Soon enough, Zhengting felt himself grabbed from behind and watched as someone had pulled his dance partner away, speaking in a scolding tone and holding onto Dinghao’s hand tightly. His partner only looked slightly remoreseful, even being as cheeky as looking back and winking towards Zhengitng.

“Sorry I left you for so long. Did Quanzhe find you alright? I thought that if anyone could help you, he would be the best option.” Zhengting looked up to again be met with the face of Bevan- no, _Wenjun_ \- who had saved him just in time for the next song to start. Zhengting pushed himself away and towards the edge of the room.

“Oh, yeah, he found me just fine _Prince Wenjun_. Don’t worry about it.” Zhengting hissed out, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes. Wenjun’s face seemed to pale, losing all the smile that it had before.

“H-He told you?” Wenjun managed with a nervous bite of his lip. He whole body seemed to go rigid with the revelation, gaze drifting out one of the large windows that lead outside. “Can we talk about it out there? Please?”

Zhengting glanced towards the middle of the room again before back towards Wenjun. With a sigh, he waved a hand and walked outside and towards the balcony. “Are there chairs out there? I need a seat…”

The two made their way out to the far less crowded balcony that overlooked the gardens. There was a cool breeze coming for the ocean, bringing in the smell of salt. From the wall by the window, Zhengting grabbed a chair and dragged it over to the railing. He let out a small sigh as he sat down and looked out towards the garden, and beyond it, the sea, that looked black under the night sky.

Wenjun came and stood by Zhengting for a moment, neither of them saying anything. The wind rustled their clothes and chilled them, but still the silence went unbroken until Wenjun spoke.

“I’m sorry I lied to you…” He said softly, hands gripping the side of the railing. “I-I just… Was tired of being treated like a prince. I just wanted to pretend what is was like to have a normal friendship for once…”

Zhengting rested his chin on his hand, elbow resting on the top of the rail. “I think your friends are pretty good.” He mused, glancing towards the prince. “Jeffrey and Yanlei never told me otherwise and after Quanzhe told by accident, he begged me to stay your friend. I think they think of you as a pretty 'normal' Wenjun from what I've seen.”

Wenjun looked shocked, gaze meeting with Zhengting’s. “Wait, are you serious? They didn’t tell? And Quanzhe actually said that?”

Zhengting smiled and winked in response. “You can trust me on that. I can’t lie, after all.”

Wenjun blinked before smiling and laughing. He took his hat off and held it over his chest, bowing towards Zhengting. “Theo, I’m sorry for what I’ve done. If you don’t mind, can we... Start over? And be friends for real this time? Nothing else dumb like this between us anymore.”

Zhengting sat there for a moment, hands tucked in his lap as Wenjun apologized. Scooting to the edge of his chair, the shorter man put one hand out and lifted Wenjun’s chin until their faces were level. Zhengting smiled softly and nodded. “I wouldn’t say we need to start over completely, but I do accept your apology.” He leaned in and closed the gap between them, lips ghosting over Wenjun’s before pressing down for a short and fleeting kiss. “And my name’s Zhengting, for real. Now we’re even.” He whispered, lips still millimeters apart from Wenjun’s, before standing up and heading back into the hall, trying to look confident. Once he was inside, Zhengting peered over his shoulder to see Wenjun touch his own lips, a look of complete look of shock on his face. Zhengting couldn't help but smirk as he dove back into the crowd, target in mind.

 

_Minghao... Here I come._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Special thanks to Molly and Ana for cheering me on while writing this! They really help me keep the enthusiasm up <3  
> 2) This is part 1 of 2 of the party! I'm in the middle of writing the next part, so do know it will be coming soon! I hope everyone is still enjoying this as much as I am!


	13. Want U (Part 2)

Zhengting straightened out his shirt, taking in a deep breath, and headed back into the crowd. The orchestra was playing less music for dancing and more for something to fill in the background of all the chatter. The children of all the wealthy families were now mingling between each other, conversations filled with gossip and drama that Zhengting could care less about. As he approached the center of the room, he heard the sound of a familiar voice call out to him.

“Theo! You made it!” Zhengting, partially annoyed, looked over his shoulder to see Yanchen walking towards him, Zeren in tow. He plastered a smile on his face and waved towards them, trying his best to be polite. The two weaved past the people who separated them from Zhengting, their hands intertwined. Zhengting stayed mostly in place, allowing them to come up,

“Well, seeing as though Wenjun asked me here personally, it’s not like I could really say no,” Zhengting greeted the pair with a polite smile, nodding to each in turn.

“Wait, you called him Wenjun! Does that mean you know!?” Zeren gasped out with wide eyes, looking around the room.”He finally confessed himself to you?”

Zhengting laughed, shaking his head. Though he knew it was nice to speak with the pair, he still couldn’t stop fiddling with the ribbons that were tied around his wrists, anxious to finally see Minghao. “No, his friend, um, Quanzhe I think it was? Yes, the little blond kid! He spilled by mistake I think. Poor soul looked terrified afterwards!”

Yanchen sighed, shaking his head. “Somehow I felt like it was either gonna be him or Chengcheng slipping up to tell you.”

“It definitely could not have been Chengcheng! He’s guarding the merman all night so no one gets too close.” Zeren pointed out with a shrug. “Have you seen him yet, Theo?”

Zhengting shook his head again, eyes lighting up. “Not up close, no. In fact, I was going over there now…”

“Oh, then we’ll go over with you! We can also introduce you to Chengcheng while we’re at it!” Zeren chimed with a smile, pointing towards the tank. With the shortest leading the way, the three formed a line to push through the throng of people that separated them from the tank. Somewhere behind them, Zhengting heard his name be called. Looking around, it seemed as though Wenjun had finally made his way back inside and was searching for him.

Zhengting was about to call out until he felt the crowd around him lessen and he realized they were now standing right in front of the thank. In it, Minghao lazily swam around, occasionally knocking the glass next to the male who stood next to it. Zhengting stopped in his tracks, eyes widening. He was faintly aware of Zeren saying something, but it all was ignored as tears filled his eyes. The Minghao he had been looking for all along was finally in front of him, separated only by a box of glass a few centimeters thick.

“Minghao…” He whispered, moving closer to the tank slowly. He heard someone shout at him, but Zhengting couldn’t hold back. He quickened his pace and moved up to the side of tank, banging on the glass with the palm of his hand in attempt to get the attention of the young merman. “Minghao! Minghao! It’s me!” He shouted, tears now freely flowing from his face. He was acutely aware of the look Minghao was giving him, filled with confusion and interest. The young merman said nothing, but instead stayed further back in the tank and analzyed the man pounding on it.

Soon enough, Zhengting felt himself yanked backwards by someone. He shouted and attempted to squirm out of the grip, ignoring the looks from the people around him. “Alright crazy. You better stop making a scene before I need to throw you out of here!” The voice gruffed in his ear before letting go and pushing Zhengting back towards Zeren and Yanchen.

Zhengting snapped back, whipping his head around to glare at the man who dragged him. “Listen here you! I don’t care who you are or what you’ve done, there is no way in hell that you’re taking Minghao away from me any longer than what you monsters already have!” His chest heaved with deep breaths as he shouted at the unkown person, eyes glaring accusingly towards the people around him. Soon enough, the gathering of people around them had all but stopped, a soft murmuring coming over the crowd.

“Z-Zhengting! What’s going on?” From his position in the crowd, Wenjun quickly shoved his way through the people, going over to stand by the shorter man. In the distance, even Jeffrey and Yanlei seemed to be attempting to get closer, the two of them becoming aware of the situation.

Zhengting moved to face Wenjun, tearing off his mask in frustration. His cheeks were painted with the trails of his tears and eyes had become red. “Wenjun!”

“Yes, Wenjun, please explain what is going on. Who is this?” The whole room fell silent as Ronghao. Not a single person moved as he made his way down the stairs. Soon enough, people began to shuffle out of the way to leave the center of the hall empty, bowing as he passed them and moved towards the commotion.

Zhengting moved his heated glare towards the oncoming king, body still tense as he held his ground. Wenjun stood off the side, looking between Ronghao and Zhengting nervously. Once the king stood in front of him, Zhengting crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes.

“F-Father! I didn’t know you were going to come down!” Wenjun said, stepping up to stand beside Zhengting. He attempted to put a comforting hand on the former merman’s shoulder, but it did little to soothe Zhengting’s emotions. Something about the king rubbed Zhengting the wrong way, so he kept his guard up around him. Even the way Wenjun called him father made the brunette's skin prick in the wrong way, but he chose to ignore the feeling the best he could.

“Yes, that was originally my plan, but I was informed of some… Discord among the guests. Dinghao and Xinchun came to me earlier to explain their feelings about it.” His gaze drifted from Wenjun to Zhengting, expression even.

“There’s nothing to worry about, sir. He was just getting too close to the mermaid tank…” The man who restrained Zhengting earlier spoke up from his position next to Zeren and Yanchen, his tone dismissing of the whole situation. There was the sound of something being dragged over towards the tank, but no one seemed to heed it, the tension between Zhengting and the king being the strongest draw of attention.

“Fan Chengcheng… I see you are the one keeping watch on the merman during this?” Ronghao questioned, gaze still trained on Zhengting. Chengcheng let out a grunt of affirmation, not moving.

“So, you’re the king, huh?” Zhengting looked Ronghao up and down and snorted. “This is the look of someone who imprisons merfolk against their will?” He sneered, taking a step towards the king. There was the sound of guards rushing up from behind, but Ronghao held up one hand.

“And are you here to tell me to set him free? That he’s a danger to the castle and everyone in it? Trust me, I’ve gotten enough of those messages already.”

“Actually, no. I’m here to take Minghao home, to where he belongs!” Zhengting snapped, stepping up to get as close as he could to the king. They held that position for a moment, neither of the two forces backing down. The air sparked with heightening tension and out of everyone, Wenjun seemed to be the most stressed, looking between the king and Zhengting. It was cut by a single voice that came from behind them all.

“T-Ting? Is that really you?” A voice peeped out from the tank, people turning their gaze towards it. Sitting on the top of the tank was Quanzhe, a piece of glass in this hand. It seemed to be the door that opened and closed to allow access into the tank was taken off, a small set of tools scattered around the gardener. From the new opening that was created, Minghao had popped up, the upper half of his body outside the tank.

Zhengting immediately backed away from the king and looked over his shoulder before rushing to the tank, looking up at it. Reaching a hand up, Zhengting nodded with tears born anew in his eyes. “Yeah, Minghao, it’s me… I got you…” There was the shuffling of feet as Yanlei and Jeffrey entered the small circle that formed around the whole situation. They smiled at Zhengting before Yanlei silently offered to lift him up. With Quanzhe scooting towards the edge of the tank, he offered one hand as Zhengting was lifted by Yanlei and brought to the top of the tank, pulled on with Quanzhe’s help.

He stumbled once he got up there, but the moment Zhengting saw Minghao, he was overcome with emotion. He stumbled forward and crushed the merman into a tight hug, tears falling into the other’s hair. “I’ve got you Minghao… No one can hurt you now… I’ve got you…” Zhengting repeated those words like a mantra over and over, fussing around Minghao and planting small kisses on the top of the younger’s head.

“Can someone explain to me what the hell is going on here?” Chengcheng’s voice echoed up from the ground, sounding annoyed. The room began to buzz with sound again everyone voicing the same concern. Zhengting ignored it all, cupping Minghao's face in his hand and placing their foreheads together, eyes closing as he let out a breathe he felt like he had been holding since the younger had been taken away.

Zhengting ignored them all and eventually sat back, smiling at Minghao. Taking the younger’s face in his hands once again, Zhengting looked him over, muttering about how he had lost weight was looked too pale for his own good while Minghao laughed and tried to push him away. “Ting, if there’s anything weird here, it’s how you have legs! Like, how did that even happen?” Minghao moved around to appreciate Zhengting’s new appendages, poking them as if to see if they were real. When Zhengting laughed and flexed his leg, Minghao let out a gasp, covering his mouth.

Once their little moment was over, Zhengting was posed to answer what had happened after Minghao had disappeared when the sound of a gun cocking echoed through the quiet hall. Walking down the main hall was Zhengting’s dancing partner from earlier with another man. Dinghao held the other one in a chokehold, a gun pointed towards his head. The attention had turned from Zhengting and Minghao’s reunion to the newcomer in an instant.

“Dinghao!? What are you doing? Let go of Xinchun!” Wenjun shouted, taking one step forward. Dinghao paused, finger resting on the trigger.

“One step forward, Your Highness, and his head gets blown off.” Came Dinghao’s cold response. He continued forward until he stood just before the group, expression blank. “Sorry to intrude on… whatever this is you have going on, but you’re gonna hand over that mermaid you have in that tank, Your Majesty.”

Ronghao narrowed his eyes, stepping between Wenjun and Dinghao. “Lu Dinghao. I thought you turned over a new leaf since you’ve joined us.”

Dinghao merely shrugged, pushing the muzzle of the gun closer to Xinchun’s head. The trapped boy let out a small whimper of fear, hands clutching around the arm that restrained him. “That was your first problem, Your Majesty. Now offer the mermaid up to me or your son’s precious little aid here is gonna be saying goodbye!”

“You wouldn’t do that to him. Do not think I am blind, Dinghao. I’ve seen the two of you.” Ronghao responded calmly. Dinghao grinded his teeth together, squeezing the arm he had around Xinchun’s neck, causing the trapped man to choke and squirm weakly.

“Don’t feed me this kind of bs, king. I just need what you have in that tank and everything here can end.” Dinghao managed to get out through clenched teeth, finger applying the slightest bit of pressure to the trigger. Xinchun began to squirm more fiercely, fear plastered over his face.

The king said nothing for a few moments, but that must have been a few moments too long. From several areas around the hall, gunshots rung out. Water began flowing out of new holes that were made in the tank following the sound, the glass cracking around them. People began to scream and run out of the hall, with guards trying their best to come inside. It proved to be fruitless as they were soon overpowered by the crowd and pushed out of the room. The shouting made it hard to pinpoint where the the resounding gun shots had come from next, seeming to be spraying from all over the room.

Zhengting immediately flung himself over as much as Minghao as he could, trying to cover the younger from any harm. He could hear shouts all around him and began to shake, the sounds of the gunshots filling the air. It didn’t take much longer for the tank to weaken before one of the sides shattering, bringing down most of the structure with it. Zhengting let out his own shout of shock as Minghao was brought down with the rush of outflowing water, Zhengting pushing himself through the opening to follow through. He felt the shattered glass catch on his clothes and tear through it, creating small cuts. Soon enough, they both landed in a small puddle of shattered glass and water below where the tank once was, blood from cuts starting to stain the area around them a deep red.

Minghao began trying to push Zhengting away, using whatever strength he could muster. “Get away! Please, go away!” He cried out as Zhengting seized around him, going rigid. He began to breathe in and out quickly, but refused to loosen his grip on the younger. Soon enough, Minghao felt another body on his from behind. Chengcheng, who was bleeding out from one side, panted as he covered the merman’s other side.

“I don’t know you or what the fuck you’re doing here, but can we agree we’re both here for him?” Chengcheng asked, looking at Zhengting for confirmation. Though shaky, the older managed to nod back, looking around worriedly.

Most of the room had cleared out at this point, leaving only a few people in the general area. Quanzhe was over with Zeren and Yanchen, putting pressure down on a wound that Yanchen seemed to have gotten with a worried Zeren by their side. Jeffrey and Yanlei, both of whom were in the direct impact of the water, were spread on the ground, unconscious. In front of them, Dinghao had thrown XInchun to the floor, gun now pointed at the King. Several others had joined behind him, one of them tying up Xinchun while some of the others were sealing the door to the hall shut. Dinghao moved closer slowly, the king holding one arm to stop Wenjun from moving forward.

“Leave this room now and let us take what we want and no one else gets hurt,” Dinghao motioned with his head towards Yanchen and Chengcheng, both of who were now gritting through the pain. “But if you resist us even more, I can’t say the outcome will be pretty.”

Ronghao stood his ground, pushing Wenjun back and standing between the group and Dinghao. “I would rather you leave this area now. Soon enough, my soldiers will be searching for you and you all will be sentenced to death on the spot.”

Wenjun, looking back between Ronghao and Zhengting, had slowly backed himself up towards the group on the floor. Zhengting was continuing to shaking and hyperventilating, his grip tightening around Minghao. The former merman seemed to curl up into himself to a certain degree, just trying to defend himself and Minghao. Slowly, he registered a warm presence on his back and looked up to see Wenjun holding them all together, a look of grim determination on his face. Something in Zhengting seemed to calm with the presence of the prince, his breathing slowly evening out.

“They can’t take all of us…” Wenjun said through gritted teeth, eyeing the group of pirates who occupied the main part of the hall. Dinghao stopped a few feel away from the king, gun still drawn. Two of the other members were carrying a net between them, following close behind Dinghao, while the others had their guns drawn and pointed at those in the area who were still concious.

“I see where you lie. I’m so very sorry to do this to you, but this is what you get for getting in our way, Your ‘Majesty’.” A single shot resonated through the room and soon enough, Ronghao dropped to his knees, small splatterings of red dropping onto the floor under him. He fell forward into the shallow water with a small splash, red slowly tinting the water around him.

“Dad! NO!” Wenjun screamed from his position above Zhengting, lurching forward towards the body. He didn’t make it in time before a net was thrown over the group of four. There was a powder on it that seemed to make them sneeze, the four boys soon feeling drowsiness drawing over them. Wenjun struggled to keep awake as they were dragged along the glass and water, eyes trained on Ronghao. “Dad… No...” He whispered, eyelids growing heavy and closing as he collapsed on top of Zhengting, who had already fallen asleep alongside Minghao and Chengcheng due to whatever the net was covered in. The last sensation any of them had was being dragged out of the castle to the sounds of their friends calling out their names fruitlessly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Party arc, done! I want to thank everyone who's come this far with me and read up to here as well as my friends on Twitter who help me think through these chapters! It truly does mean a lot to me when I get comments about my work and how everyone is reacting to it :) I also try my best to update fairly frequently, but I will be taking a break for a bit. I'm doing a summer class up in the middle of the mountains that's three weeks long, so my chances to type and post will be limited. In the meanwhile, I'll be going back and sprucing up the earlier chapters to fix things I probably missed during the first pass throughs, as well as possibly just adding little bits into the story. Again, thank you for coming this far with me and see you all again in a month! ~Emilia  
> P. S. I UPLOADED THIS ON XINCHUN'S BIRTHDAY AND IM SORRY TO HURT YOU LIKE THIS I STILL LOVE YOU MY MINION CHILD


	14. Focus

Zhengting awoke to the feeling of shifting back and forth. His head still felt groggy as he slowly began to regain his senses. First, he felt his muscles protest any type of movement. His arms were connected firmly behind his back and legs were splayed awkwardly in front of him. Next was the sound of hushed voices talking, familiar, but all too quiet to make out what they were actually saying. Lastly, the former merman managed to crack his eyes open slightly. Instead of meeting with an intense light, Zhengting was staring into the gloomy and dark room. The more his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the more he could make out. He seemed to be in some sort of metal cage, bars lining all the sides and no means of escape visible. There were blobs of other shapes in front of him, but he couldn’t make out much beyond his own entrapment.

“... and I don’t think they’ll hurt us. For now at least. All of us are useful to them in one way or another.” Chengcheng’s distinct voice seemed to come out of the gloom, another voice that sounded further away answering him.

“Wenjun…?” Zhengting croaked, his voice hoarse and dry from disuse. He tried to squint his eyes to make out where the other was, but it was impossible to find in the lack of light.

“Zhengting! You’re awake!” Came a response from further back in the darkness, sounding like Wenjun. “That’s good. I was starting to get worried…”

“Aw, it sounds like the whole crew is awake! Good to know that then!” The voice came with a sudden influx of light, a door opening up somewhere above them as several people walked down towards the group. With this short glimpse of light, Zhengting was able to make out the duo of Chengcheng and Wenjun further away and tied against what seemed to be some kind of post.

Minghao was nowhere in sight. 

The leader of the group had bowed down, extending one arm outward and the other under his stomach as he did so. “May I be the first to welcome you aboard the Radiant! My name is… Well, I won’t tell you my full name, but you can call me Chaoze. I’m the captain around here,” he turned to eye the three who were captured, a sickly sweet smile on his face. “But introductions aren’t always necessary… Isn’t that correct Prince Wenjun and Fan Chengcheng?”

The two named merely glared in Chazoe’s direction, neither of them uttering a word. Though, the pirate didn’t seem bothered by that. In fact, he walked forward, boots creating dull thuds on the wood. He stopped in front of the cage Zhengting was in, the former merman trying to look as brave as possible.

“But I would really like to know exactly who you are…” He muttered softly, withdrawing the sword from his hip and placing the tip of it under Zhengting’s chin.

“Leave him alone!” Wenjun barked out from his position on the post. This, however, only made Chaoze chuckle and run the tip of his sword down Zhengting’s chest. The blade dragged the fabric of the shirt down, occasionally making small tears in it until it reached his pants.

“Oh ho, it looks like we have our hands on the prince’s little pet… Is that what you are?” Chaoze smirked as he asked the caged man, sword lazily resting on Zhengting’s thigh. Zhengting, however, didn’t flinch away from the blade, keeping quiet and glaring at the man in front of him.

Chaoze stood there and waited for some sort of reaction from anyone, clicking his tongue when he got none. Quickly he withdrew his sword, placing it back in it’s sheath by his hip. He walked back towards the entrance in which he entered from, hands clasped behind his back. A smirk formed on hip lips as an idea came to him, stopping his pace.

“You know… Maybe I can ask that little mermaid on deck about it? You did seem pretty cozy with him too…” Chaoze began to take a step forward before a new voice called out to him.

“Leave Minghao alone! I-I’ll answer whatever you want!” Zhengting lurched forward against his restraints, letting out a small grunt when he couldn’t move any further. Chaoze smiled to himself, getting the precise reaction he wanted from Zhengting. With a chuckle, he motioned to the pirate to his side, tossing a key towards him.

“Ruotian, get him out of the cage and into my personal quarters. Don’t be afraid if you… rough him up at all. I’m sure the prince will still use him even with a few scratches on that pretty skin.” Chaoze calmly walked back up the stairs with one of the crew members, leaving the other two down in the hull. The one with the keys, Ruotian, walked over to unlock the cage while the second pirate went in to untie Zhengting from the bars.

“Careful Honglin, he might try to run on you. Though, he can’t go far like this.” The taller commented, laughing slightly. The other, now known as Honglin, merely nodded in acknowledgement. With new ropes tied around his wrists, Zhengting was led towards the entrance the others had come from early, his steps slow and unsure.

“Theo, listen to me! Don’t tell them anything! They can’t do much to you if he don’t know-” Wenjun was cut off as he met a heavy boot to the chest. Ruotian glared down at the prince, watching the bit of blood dribbled out of his mouth.

“Shut it princeling. Save your breath.” He grunted before roughly grabbing Zhengting’s arm and dragging forward once more, taking the steps quickly.

“I’m sorry… I can’t lie…” Were the last words Zhengting managed to say before being brought onto deck.

He flinched when the sudden sunlight hit him, but was dragged along the deck. Contrary to what Zhengting would have believed, he found it mostly empty. He saw someone by the wheel and glimpsed the shine of a telescope from somewhere up above, but beyond that, the whole ship seemed empty. Zhengting didn’t have much more time to look around before a door was opened and he was shoved inside, stumbling and falling onto his face.

“How majestic…” A voice purred from above. Looking up, Zhengting saw Chaoze with his hands supporting chin on the desk above him. He work that trademark smirk that irked Zhengting to no end as he watched the former merman struggle to right himself. “Though, nothing's quite as majestic as a live mermaid.” He added once Zhengting managed to sit upright.

Immediately the brunette looked around for Minghao and gasped as he found the younger boy on the floor, gasping slightly. It looked as though he hasn’t been in water for a while and dry conditions of the room were starting to get to him. It wasn’t that merfolk couldn’t breathe air, it’s more the fact that if they dry out too much, they can’t function too well. Not functioning well often led to death. And Minghao was all too dry.

“Minghao!” Zhengting cries out, awkwardly getting to his feet to rush towards the other. He was within reach before a sword was pointedly thrown at the ground right between the two, cutting Zhengting off. Shocked, he stumbled backwards, landing on his back.

“Ah, ah, ah! Can’t have you touching the merchandise now!” The pirate captain has gotten up from his desk, walking over to pull his sword out of the floor boards. He bent down to look at Zhengting, sword still in hand. “On the bright side, we can finally have our chat! Not even that silly prince can interrupt us now!” Chaoze hummed.

He walked over to the barely conscious merman, tapping Minghao with one foot. “Maybe if you even answer the right questions, your precious mermaid friend here can finally get that much needed water…” Zhengting grinded his teeth slightly, fuming at he watched Chaoze poke and prod Minghao. The poor merman was too out of it to even properly register the jabs, merely groaning from his dryness.

“F-Fine! I’ll tell you whatever you want! Just please, get him some water!” Zhengting eventually cried out, his heart breaking for the younger. It was all Zhengting’s fault in the first place that Justin got caught up in this mess, so Zhengting knew he had to be the one to right it, one way or another.

Chaoze smile and nodded towards Honglin, allowing the other pirate to pick up and leave with Justin while he went back to his chair. Ruotian stood guard at the door, keeping one hand on his sword and eyes on Zhengting. “Now, you’ll be truthful when you answer my questions, won’t you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Sorry for the short chapter this time. I'm still in my class, but I've had some down time as of late and got around to writing some one shots and decided to work a bit on this as well! I promise the next update will be longer, though! I just thought it would be nice to get at least this little filler bit out. If you have any questions about my writing or anything, feel free to send something through my curious cat! Or even just send ideas you want written out, because I do love getting inspiration from wherever I can! Anyway, see you all next time!  
> https://curiouscat.me/EmiliaAnn


	15. Rush Forward

Chaoze watched Zhengting from his chair, eyes nearly predatory in nature. The former merman felt a quiver go through his body, but he tried to ignore it. They sat there in silence for a bit, the only sounds audible being those of the ship creaking back and forth and Zhengting hearing his own heartbeat. Eventually, he was annoyed enough to break the silence himself.

“Listen, are you-“ Zhengting started before he felt a swift kick to the side, Ruotian moving from the door to the center of the room in an instant.

“You only speak when spoken to,” he grunted, heavy boot landing on Zhengting’s hand, which made him take in a sharp breath of pain. Chaoze waved a hand, sending Ruotian back to the door. The latter looked mildly disappointed, sending a hateful glare in the former merman’s direction.

“Fine then. I can start. What are you?”

“What… am I?”

Chaoze snorted. “At least you’re not deaf. Explain to me what you are because there’s no way a normal human would be that close to a mermaid.”

Zhengting lifted his torso off the floor and to get back into a kneeling position to answer. He bit his lip in thought for a moment before answering. What exactly was he? Human? Merman? Something disgusting in between the two? “I guess I’m technically a human now?”

“Now? And before that?”

“A merman…” Zhengting nervously swallowed as he heard the pirate captain get out of his chair once again. Chaoze’s eyes flipped towards the other pirate at the door. A smirk formed on his features, looking down Zhengting’s already ruined shirt from earlier.

“Undress him. Let’s see how human he really is,” Chaoze said with a smirk turning into a grin on his face. Immediately, Zhengting began to fruitlessly struggle against his bindings in a useless attempt to get away or resist. This caused his already raw wrists to turn red and bloody as he chafed against the rope’s rough texture. He could feel the red liquid starting to flow down his hands, but tried his best to ignore the feeling.

“N-no! Leave me alone!” Zhengting cried out as rough callused hands began to rip apart the costume that he and Jeffrey had so meticulously pieced together. First came the shirt, which had already been ruined earlier. It caught around his bound wrists, causing even more pain as it was yanked off. Next came his pants, which had lost the delicate layering of fabrics far earlier. They were tugged off with little remorse, leaving a chill to run through Zhengting’s skin. With a bit more strength than what was probably necessary, the former merman was now lying naked on the floor of the captain’s cabin, being poked and prodded by Chaoze. He stifled a small sob, trying to not let the pirates in on his moment of weakness.

“Hmm… You play a convincing man, even if you are hardly that,” he added with a snicker, poking the brunette’s ass with the tip of his boot. “I bet you turn into no better than a girl when the prince holds you here. How about that for royal treatment?”

Zhengting yelped and jumped forward, sending the best glare he could towards Chaoze from his position. He didn’t exactly understand what the pirate meant when he said that, but could tell enough it was meant to be insulting. Eying him, Ruotian took one of Zhengting’s legs to drag him back and inspected it, twisting it around without a care as he did so.

“There’s not even a hint of scales… I think the only way you can tell is the by that scar.” The pirate then took Zhengting roughly by the waist and flipped him around, showing a large diagonal scar that went across the top of his waist and stopped suddenly with a smooth curved line right above his hip. Zhengting couldn’t help the flush of red that went across the cheeks as he was inspected, unable to properly cover himself.

“You’re right… There’s no armor strong enough to allow for that kind of mark to be made. Unless the rest of the scar was left on his scales…” Chaoze began to mutter to himself, stepping away from the merman. Zhengting sat there awkwardly on the floor from where Ruotian had grabbed him, still exposed to the world.

“Now, if you were a mermaid and turned into a human, the process wouldn’t be simple I’m assuming.”

“N-No…”

“But there is a way to reverse it, right?”

Zhengting fell silent, swallowing a lump that had formed in his throat. He didn’t confirm or deny the question, but knew that answering it wouldn't be good for anyone. Chaoze waited a moment before nodding to the pirate who still held Zhengting. There was a pulling sensation on his wrists from the rope and the brunette tried his best to not let on how much pain he was in, but when there was a sudden pop of his shoulder, Zhengting couldn’t help but let out a yelp of pain, gasping as he curled into himself.

“Now let’s try this again…” Chaoze crouched down and lifted up Zhengting’s chin with one finger, coming to eye level with the crying male. “You can reverse it, right?”

“Y-Yes…” Came the pitiful whimper.

“Then tell me how,” Chaoze said, his hand going from lifting up Zhengting’s chin to grabbing a fistful of hair and tugging his head up.

“I-I need to swim in the water from the area I was born in,” Zhengting managed to get out, flinching as his head was left to gravity and hairs were painfully tugging at him. That pain was quickly ended as Chaoze released his hair, allowing Zhengting’s chin to crash into the ground. With an irritated huff, he went back to his chair. Chaoze’s face had crossed into one of quiet contemplation as he waved Ruotian off with one hand.

“Take him out of my sight. Throw him back in the cage or something. I need to think about this…” Dutifully, the other pirate nodded and roughly grabbed Zhengting by the arm and hoisted him up, the smaller man letting out a cry of pain as his dislocated shoulders were jostled. Soon enough, Zhengting was led back out onto the main deck. The sun was no longer as bright, instead the sky had turned a hazy red color, becoming a dark blue in the distance.

Zhengting could feel the curious glances of the crew members as he was lead across the deck. He tried to ignore them as he scanned the area for any signs of Minghao. The usual loud and playful merman was nowhere to be seen and that just didn’t feel right to Zhengting. They had promised him they would get the younger into water and not seeing him immediately made Zhengting go into a small frenzy.

“Minghao! Minghao where are you!?” He screamed only to get whacked in the head with a closed fist. He stumbled forward at the impact, but tried to ignore the actual pounding in his head. “Minghao!”

Before another hit could come through, a familiar face walked up to Zhengting and Ruotian, expression flat. “He’s in the baths. He won’t dry up, don’t worry,” Dinghao said, carefully watching Zhengting’s expression change from wild worry to suspicious.

“You’re not lying to me, are you?” He hissed, eyes narrowing at the traitor. Silently, Zhengting noted that Xinchun, if that was the man’s name, was nowhere in sight. He was last seen with Dinghao, but now he was all but missing.

Dinghao shrugged, walking past the pair. “I have no reason to. And don’t worry about feeding the other two. It’s already been done.”

Zhengting watched Dinghao walk away on the ship before being shoved forward once more, eventually descending the stairs into the storage area. In it, he noticed that Wenjun and Chengcheng hadn’t moved positions and were still tied to the beam. Ruotian led the brunette past the two and threw him into the cage at the farther end, slamming the door shut and locking it quickly. The pirate said nothing as he got up and left the room, slamming the door behind himself.

Zhengting attempted to right himself as he leaned against the bars on the side of the cage. He could hear Wenjun’s worried voice in the distance, but it didn’t register. Instead, Zhengting gave into his own weakness, sobbing softly as the pain from his various injuries seem to finally take into affect. He had never been one to endure large amounts of pain, but the various areas on his body that screamed with the need for attention were all going against what Zhengting could hold back on. 

But Minghao was okay. He could live with that. Minghao was okay.

“Zhengting!” Wenjun’s fervent yelling eventually got through to Zhengting, who went down to only a sniffle as he responded.

“Y-Yes?” He responded, lifting his head up from where it was leaning against the side of the cage.

“Are you okay?” Wenjun’s voice was now filled with concern as he spoke. Zhengting found it slightly disorienting as he heard the voice, but could see no body attached to it in the murky darkness. “Did they do anything to you?”

“I think… They dislocated my shoulders? I can’t move them and they made a popping noise earlier. One of them also hit me a lot…” Zhengting softly placed his head back on the bars, trying to stop the tears from flowing. He never had to do this when he was a merman, so he didn’t understand why humans had something like this. “But Minghao’s okay…”

“You mean Justin?” Chengcheng’s voice soon also cut through the darkness, sounding much more interested. “Why do you even call him Minghao? Isn’t his name Justin?”

Zhengting snorted. He remembered the day the younger had fought for the “cooler sounding” stage name of Justin instead of his given name of Minghao. That didn’t stop Zhengting from using the boy’s given name, though, now acting as a special bond between the two.

“Minghao… Is his given name. Justin is his stage name, but he likes it a lot more, so that’s probably why he gave it to you instead,” Zhengting explained, a small smile unconsciously forming on his face. Minghao had always been that kind of kid, spunky and wild, always ready to change things up. Now he might have changed things up a bit too much.

“Stage name? Are you guys like performers or something?”

Zhengting hummed in agreement, closing his eyes as happier memories began to flood his mind. Scenes of them and everyone else back home on stage, performing songs and shows, each time bringing in a roaring crowd that always seemed to be asking for more. The times when Xukun or Yanjun joined them, the times when training was a trial of endurance, with practises that seemed to draw on for days on end. But now, that kind of experience had felt like months ago when in reality it had hardly been a week since all of this happened. Zhengting let out a small sigh, drawing into himself as his memories. He could vaguely hear Chengcheng and Wenjun delving into conversation, but he was too tired to join in. For a moment, Zhengting’s thought drifted into what awaited them for the next day, but the aches in body and tired mind eventually took over, sending Zhengting into an uncomfortable rest.


	16. The Painting from a Dream

Wenjun watched as Zhengting was dragged out of the hull, his heart breaking slightly. He could hear footsteps disappearing over them and let out a small sigh, wriggling against the tight bindings that lashed him onto the beam alongside Chengcheng. He knew that any attempt at getting out was futile, but that didn’t stop him from trying.

“Hey, don’t forget that someone else is here too!” Chencheng snapped, kicking Wenjun the best he could from where they were. “These ropes hurt, damnit… And you moving doesn't make them any better!”

The prince huffed, resorting to just trying to figure out where they were. Though there was a gloomy darkness that covered the whole area, the faint light from between the boards of the ship were just enough to make out some basic items. It seemed like this area was mostly used for storage, with large crates littering the area. Barrels filled with glinting weapons and cannon balls on the floor were stacked in haphazard piles filled another part of the space. For some reason, this ship reminded Wenjun more of something he’d see from merchants instead of pirates. Perhaps they had stole it? He tried to think of anything lately about pirate hijacking, but nothing in particular came to mind.

His moment of contemplation was quickly ruined by the sound of Chengcheng’s grumbling stomach. The owner of the noisy stomach groaned, knocking his head back against the pole they were attached to. “Ugh, I’m hungry… Do you think they’re gonna feed us?”

“If we wanted to really kill you, that would have been done already.” From the stairs, sunlight quickly filled the room. Wenjun winced as the doors were closed a bit, allowing only a tiny stream of light in. Walking down the stairs was none other than Dinghao, holding a tray that had two bowls of soup that sloshed back and forth with an interesting viscosity to them. He seemed to eye the two with contempt and disgust, making it a point to keep his distance from both of them.

With little care, Dinghao dropped the bowls onto the floor before bringing out a knife and extra rope and began to work on the restraints that were on Chengcheng and Wenjun. They both watched on in silence, tension in the air thick. Dinghao undid part of the ropes that attached them to the pillar before taking the ones he brought with him to restrain their feet, making escape not impossible, but very difficult. He worked in silence at first, eyes trained on where his hands were working.

“I never thought that you’d come back to this life,” Chengcheng chided as his feet were tied, glaring down at the pirate. “We all thought you changed…”

Dinghao snorted, tying some complicated looking knot on the brunette's ankle before moving onto Wenjun. “It’s not my fault that you deserve all this,” his glare was directed towards Wenjun, hate filling every word. It was obvious that the prince was the object of the pirate's malice, Chengcheng all but ignored. “Maybe if you knew your ‘friends’ better everything would have been better.” Wenjun frowned and drew his eyebrows together as Dinghao spoke, not moving as his feet were tied up. “Maybe if everything was fucked up by mermaids all those years ago, everything would have been better!” He accentuated his words by tugging particularly hard on the rope binding the prince’s feet. It left angry red marks in its wake, though not strong enough to break skin.

“Dinghao, what are you even talking about?” Wenjun asked softly. The top layer of bindings were being cut down, freeing his torso from the constraints, but his hands were still tied up to the pillar. Dinghao paused in his work, withdrawing the knife from the rope and pointing it at Wenjun's chest.

“What am I talking about? I’m talking about Xinchun, you scum. Do you know how many years he suffered under your control? Now is the only time he can finally be free!”

Wenjun paused, shock taking over his features. Suffering, Xinchun? Wenjun knew that the aid was sometimes irritated with him, but not once had Xinchun ever expressed his dislike for working for the royal family. In fact, the younger often took pride in his hardwork, promising Wenjun to be both the best friend and best aid he'd ever need. Dinghao pointed the tip of the knife at Wenjun’s face, narrowing his eyes.

“Yeah, you better listen up pretty boy because soon enough you’ll be off this ship and floating for dead in the ocean. I hope when you’re dying you think about all the shit you’ve ruined in his life.” Chengcheng’s stomach growled again at this point and all he could do was give a sheepish grin as he tried to ignore the sound. Dinghao seemed too taken up with Wenjun to even notice the disturbance.

“When we first came back to shore, I didn’t plan on leaving. In fact, we were searching for one of our crewmates who had been spirited off by one of those damned mermaids. Never saw him again, the poor idiot. Our captain still thinks he’s out there, somewhere in the ocean. In case you were curious, that’s why he took your little fishy boyfriend, Mr. Fan. That maybe he had some clues, but stealing a noble or two along the way wasn't a bad thing either.

“Anyway, after he left, the captain sent me on shore to see if I could dig up any rumors about our missing mate, but the more I looked the more discouraged we got. But it wasn’t until I came across Xinchun did things turn around…” Dinghao paused, his face filled with an unnamable expression. He shook his head, continuing the story.

“He had heard about our predicament and offered to help any time he could. He would leave the castle for hours back then. He told me our time together was an escape from everything. From his parents, his training, his classes… Everything. Even you, prince.”

Wenjun frowned, biting slightly at his bottom lip. He remembered when Xinchun had first introduced Dinghao to their small friend group. The boy was sassy and always seemed to have a comeback for everything. The two of them seemed to often disappear for hours on end and come back laughing about something the other had done. That had all ended soon enough, though, as Xinchun soon began his official work as Wenjun’s aid sometime after, cutting down the time the two would spend together. Dinghao would often come by and pick Xinchun up after sunset, though, and two would disappear again. It wasn't often it happened, but it was enough for Quanzhe to tease the aid about it until he admitted the two were going on dates.

“God, how I hated how he talked about you back then. Time and time again it was always ‘Wenjun got another perfect score on his geography exam!’ or ‘Wenjun is so smart, he won’t need me!’ or ‘Why won’t Wenjun look at me?’” Dinghao’s face warped from mimicking Xinchun’s expressions and voice to one of complete disgust and hate at the last sentence. “You fucking _idiot_.”

The sudden change in tone was harsh. It was obvious that Dinghao was holding himself back from whatever bodily harm he wanted to inflict on the taller man. Instead, the pirate settled for throwing his knife at the post, lightly slicing Wenjun’s cheek as the blade embedded itself into the wooden post. It was as this point Chengcheng spoke up.

“Hold up. Are you saying that Xinchun… Liked Wenjun?”

“Oh man, nobles are really pumping out some smart babies! They must have given you ears and not eyes because it was pretty obvious to see that Xinchun was practically drooling over every step pretty boy took. Do you know how hard it was to watch him mooning over something he thought he could never get?” Dinghao seemed to deflate for that moment, hand rolling into a tight fist. The food had been forgotten about at this point, remaining unmoved on the floor. There were voices from overhead that seemed to be speaking about something that caught Dinghao’s attention.

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m going to make him happier than he ever would be been imprisoned by the castle and all the rules… Even there we couldn't be together and I'm not even a prince! The mainland has always been the worst thing for everyone.” Dinghao grabbed his knife out of the pillar and stalked back to the stairs, refusing to meet Wenjun’s stare as he left.

“Dinghao, wait!” Wenjun called out, mildly surprised when the pirate actually stopped partway up a step. It was obvious he was upset with whatever Wenjun was going to say, but it was just enough time for Wenjun to say what he needed. “Is what you’re doing really that different? He’s now a prisoner on this ship… How different was it on land?” Dinghao didn’t respond, but instead clicked his tongue as he went up the stairs and slammed the door behind him, once again trapping the pair in darkness.

They sat there for a while, neither of them exchanging any words. The creaking sound of the wood and ocean were the only sounds that permeated the inky darkness they sat in. This allowed Wenjun to go through his mind, trying to remember the past. Xinchun? A crush on him? It didn’t just seem to add up. They had always been close, as close as brothers even, but he never thought of the other romantically. But apparently that had only been a one sided thing.

“Do you think he’s doing okay?” Chengcheng asked quietly, as if he were afraid to disturb Wenjun too much.

“Who?”

“Xinchun… He must feel like this is his fault…”

Wenjun sighed softly, plopping his head back onto the pole behind him. “I don’t know… He really liked Dinghao, so I can’t tell. But, I also don’t think this was all due to Xinchun and Dinghao. He mentioned something earlier… Something about mermaids.”

“You mean when he said one of their crewmates were taken away?” Chengcheng tilted his head in thought. “You don’t think… They just accidentally got us? Like we weren’t part of their original plan? He did say we were just extras, so maybe they'll let us go.”

Their conversation was cut off by the doors opening once more, Zhengting stumbling down the stairs with one of the pirates behind him. Wenjun immediately became worried when he glimpsed the naked and bruised body of the thin man being thrown back into the cage on the other side of the hull. The three were then lapsed into a short conversation before Zhengting has seemingly passed out, the sound of soft breathing coming from where he was. Wenjun could feel a pang in his heart, desperately wanting to know what the other had to endure and how the prince could make it better.

“God, they’re really going all out aren’t they?” Chengcheng grimaced through clenched teeth. “They’re beating information out of him and stealing nobles… I can’t believe this is all for that one guy they lost.”

“Maybe it’s a kind of revenge plot? Trying to hurt the merfolk like how they hurt them?” The prince mused, trying to think of something to say.

“I don’t think that’s right… Some of the stories Justin told me were pretty bad, Wenjun. Apparently his whole village was killed except for a few of them. I think that Zhengting kid over there helped him get out too.” Chengcheng explained softly. Whenever it came to Minghao, Wenjun could tell Chengcheng had developed a soft side to him. It was sweet to see the occasionally loud and mischievous boy be sweet around the merman. “I just don’t see why they need him…”

Wenjun merely sighed, not knowing any response to give Chengcheng. “I couldn’t tell you… For now, we may as well get some rest. Maybe we can think of an escape plan tomorrow…” The younger merely grunted in response, mumbling something about how he was still hungry, before he closed his eyes.

Wenjun stared forward into the darkness, knowing that Zhengting was laying there somewhere. HIs thoughts went back to that one evening, days ago now, when he found the injured merman on the beach. His scales were a beautiful purple sheen that seemed to catch the light in the most intricate of ways. Even bruised and battered, he held that passion to him that was so strong and beautiful. And Wenjun was pretty sure that the broken man that was caged mere meters in front of him and that injured merman were one in the same. Their resemblances were too striking to not be.

And if that were true, that means Wenjun fell in love at first sight. Twice. With the same person.

He couldn’t help but give himself a small laugh, thinking how if he told anyone else how ridiculous it would sound. Falling in love with the same, beautiful person twice. How lucky he was to be blessed by such meetings. Sadly, none of that luck would mean anything if they couldn’t find a way out of here. As close as they were, the bars that separated them were too much for Wenjun to even think about breaking through.

For what seemed like the millionth time that day, the large doors that led down to their prison were opened, though no sunlight streamed through. Instead, it led out to a dark deck that was lit up by only the thin light of the moon. There was a familiar outline at the top of the stairs, and though his expression was darkened by the lack of light, it was apparent he was in a rush as he practically ran down the stairs.

“Xinchun!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super huge thanks to Soph for talking out this chapter with me! You're the best~
> 
> And guys, Capturing Heart and Body is nearly at 1k hits (like 20 away)!! I'm actually so thankful for everyone who's read this and kept with me for this long. It warms my heart to know that people are enjoying my writing this much. I hope you all can stay with me until the end as well!


	17. Radient

Wenjun rubbed his sore wrists, watching Xinchun cutting off the restraints on Chengcheng in the dim light. Seeing the younger boy rush down the stairs and seek out the aid of one of the many weapons stored in the hull was amazing. In usual Xinchun fashion, he worked efficiently and freed Wenjun in no time. Throughout the whole process, the three of them didn’t exchange any words, every breath taken softly as if not to draw suspicion to their actions from any pirates that may be above them.

Even in the dim light, Wenjun could tell Xinchun was without a shirt, but his lower half still wore the pants from the party night. Overall, the aid looked slightly shaken, but unharmed. Leaving Xinchun to his work, Wenjun began to warily walk around, hands placed in front of his body cautiously.

“Zhengting? Zhengting?” He whispered harshly, trying to find some confirmation of where the other might be located without being too loud. The prince got no audible response, making his heart flutter slightly. What if something had happened to Zhengting since he had been thrown down here after what felt like hours ago? After bumping into several crates, his hands bumped into cold metal, causing Wenjun to curse softly. It was too dark to make out any distinguishing features, but the flat top and bars along the side made him confident it was the cage that Zhengting was imprisoned in.

“Zhengting! Wake up, Zhengting!” Wenjun’s voice grew in volume slightly as he tried to rouse the other, but was unsuccessful. Zhengting was fast asleep in the cage, not even budging to the sound of the other’s voice.

“Wenjun, shut up! They’re gonna hear us!” Chengcheng hissed, finally free of his restraints. He stood up on slightly shaky legs with the aid of Xinchun and glared in the general direction of Wenjun’s voice.

“But I’m not leaving without him!” The prince returned with an alarming amount of authority that quickly shut Chengcheng up. It must have been loud enough, though, as there was a small groan of pain that came from the cage. In it, Zhengting was slowly rolling awake, blinking into the empty darkness. Immediately, Wenjen bent down to try to get a look at the other. “Zhengting! Thank god, you’re awake.”

“Yeah, not thanks to you…” The former merman grumbled with a small sneeze that echoed in the hull. He rubbed his nose, the pain from his body hitting him once more all at once. “It’s c-cold in here… Wait, what are you even doing over here? Did they free you?”

“Well, they didn’t exactly free me…”

“I did.” Xinchun’s voice rang through the darkness, sounding further away than the post where he last was at. He had moved to the base of the staircase with Chengcheng, hand resting on the railing. Wenjun could just make out their forms, lit up by the silver of moonlight that came out from the partially opened door. “And we need to leave, Wenjun. Now.”

“Leave? What the hell do you mean by leave? Zhengting is still trapped!”

“Then how do you propose we free him? With all the other metal in the room and wake up the whole ship? Wenjun we have no clue where the key if anything, getting you off this ship is the priority. I could hear you crash into that cage from here and I am willing to bet that it’s not just closed by rope. I don't even want to start thinking about how loud it would be to try and break a lock.”

Wenjun bit back a response to his aid who was probably right. Zhengting seemed like their prize grab from the whole attack, so it only made sense that they locked him up properly. With a small huff, Wenjun slowly felt his way along the top of the cage until he found the opening to it. His hand went down to find whatever sealed it only to be met with a matching metal lock that merely made clinking noises as Wenjun tugged at it in vain. Zhengting crawled forward the best he could in the cage, placing one hand on top of Wenjun’s. His face was just visible in the dim light, pain contorting his features.

“Wenjun, please… Just get out of here. I’ll be fine,” Zhengting pleaded softly.

“Fine? What part of you is fine right now, Zhengting?” Wenjun hissed, looking over the other’s bruised and battered body. “Right when I finally have you in my reach… I don’t want to let go…” With his free hand, Wenjun cupped Zhengting’s face and lightly rubbed his thumb over the other’s cheek. Zhengting smiled and held Wenjun’s hand before slowly pushing it away and shaking his head.

“You have to go… I just ask that if you can, please help Minghao. He’s been through enough for a while. He can be fine without me,” Wenjun recoiled slightly, blinking. Even after he was beaten, thrown in a cage, and stripped naked, all Zhengting could think of was the younger merman. Had he no thoughts for himself? For Wenjun?

In a feeling of slight spite, Wenjun couldn’t hold back his next words. “Minghao this, Minghao that… Do you ever think about yourself for a second?” He paused, biting his lip. “About me?”

Zhengting stared back at Wenjun, mouth hanging open slightly. He always knew he put Minghao first, but never had he been really called out for it. Was Minghao always on his mind? Well, it seemed like it had been that way in the past, but ever since he met the prince, everything had been changing. One second Zhengting could just contain his disgust for humans while staying with Jeffrey and Yanlei and the next he couldn’t help but be falling for the tall prince that literally swept Zhengting off his feet.

And, no matter how much Zhengting didn’t want to admit it, he had been thinking about Wenjun more and more. It wasn’t like he forgot Minghao in the very least, but being with Wenjun, watching Wenjun smile, and just talking with Wenjun made Zhengting feel something he hadn’t felt in a very long while. It was warm and contagious and after the brief kiss they shared, it had only flared up even more in Zhengting. In short, Wenjun had become one of the most important things in Zhengting’s head, and Zhengting himself hadn’t even noticed.

He was thankful for the cover of darkness as Zhengting’s cheeks warmed and flared up pink as Wenjun awaited a response. Somewhere in the distance, he made out the fact that one of the other two had told them to hurry it up and Wenjun ignoring them as he waited for a response. Zhengting opened and closed his mouth a few times before drawing his hand away from the cage’s bar and towards his chest, curling into himself slightly.

If this is what it took for Wenjun to get himself to safety, Zhengting would be happy. Even if it meant giving up his life in the process.

“No, I don’t. Minghao comes first, before you, before myself. Now can I trust you to get him back home safely or not?” Zhengting flinched at the visible hurt on Wenjun’s face. The taller male dropped his hands from the bars, face going from shock, to pain, to an icy coldness that froze Zhengting down to the core.

“Okay. I got it. Get Justin home? I’m sure we can do that.” Without another word, Wenjun stood up and made his way towards the stairs. Once at the bottom with Chengcheng and Xinchun, he looked back over his shoulder. His eyes had adjusted enough to make out Zhengting hugging his knees to his chest as he sat in the cage, alone. With a deep pain in his heart, the prince went up the stairs, coming out onto the deck silently.

“Jeez, what kind of sappy drama are we living in?” Chengcheng muttered as he joined Xinchun and Wenjun on deck. Wenjun shot the younger a glare, but it didn’t seem to affect him as he glanced around. “How’d you even get to us, Xinchun?”

Xinchun paused, pressing himself up against the side of the ship as he led Wenjun and Chengcheng towards a door on the other side of the ship. “Dinghao… He let me go. I don’t think he meant anything bad by taking me here. He still loves me…” Xinchun looked down at his hands, mindlessly fidgeting with a ring that hadn’t been there during the party. “But he told me to leave, with you guys, and to go back to where we belong.”

Wenjun put a comforting hand on Xinchun’s shoulder, smiling softly at him. “I know it was probably hard… Thank you for coming back to us.”

Xinchun just nodded curtly, looking around from where they were. “It looks like there’s a dinghy over there… We can probably get it down to the water without anyone noticing. They don’t have a huge crew and right now the only people are probably the captain by the wheel and the lookout in the crow’s nest. The rest of everyone would be sleeping in their quarters.” When Wenjun and Chengcheng just stared at Xinchun with wide eyes, he only looked away with a blush dusting his face. “Dinghao told me…”

“Well, that’s all fine and dandy, but did he also tell you where they’re keeping Justin?” Wenjun seemed to bristle slightly at the sound of the younger merman’s name, but he tried his best to make it not apparent. Chengcheng seemed dead set on freeing him regardless.

“No, he didn’t. Besides the point, we don’t have time for that. We need to lower the boat and-”

“No, Xinchun, we need to find him,” Wenjun interrupted softly, nodding towards Chengcheng. “It’s the least I can do for Zhengting…”

Xinchun whipped around, glaring. “You mean that dumbass down there broke your heart and you’re still doing things for him!?” When the prince didn’t respond, Xinchun merely clicked his tongue. “You and Chengcheng can focus on finding out where he is. I’ll get started on the boat in the back.”

Chengcheng nodded and pulled on Wenjun’s shirt, gesturing to a door that led to another part of the ship. “Let’s head down that way. This place isn’t too big, so there aren’t that many places to hide him.”

The younger now led the way as he crept through the door, mildly surprised to find it unlocked. “Do they not lock anything on here? I know they’re pirates, but this is how you get stuff stolen.”

“Cheng, they’re on the sea most of the time. I doubt they think of locking doors that lead to probably nowhere important,” Wenjun scoffed as he slipped inside. They were greeted with a series of three doors and another staircase that led down. The door directly ahead of them was closed tightly, obviously not welcoming of visitors. The door to the left was slightly ajar and the sounds of snoring could be heard from inside. The last door off to the right was closed with a large “DO NOT ENTER” sign that looked to be hastily attached to the front of the door.

Chengcheng nodded his head with a grin. “Bingo.” Swiftly, he pushed the door wide open, stepping inside. In the room was a pirate pouring a bucket of water over what seemed to be a green finned male. The pirate paused, turning around slowly. There were a few heartbeats before what seemed to be all hell broke loose.

The pirate took the bucket in his hand and threw it in the direction of Chengcheng and Wenjun, shouting as he did so. The bucket clattered on the wall as it missed both of the boys, who now started to run forwards. Bracing himself, Wenjun ran straight into the pirate, using his shoulder to push him away from the tub. Chengcheng followed quickly behind, looking over a shocked Minghao.

“Chengcheng! Wenjun!” Minghao cheered happily, trying to help himself out of the tub. Chengcheng lifted the merman up in his arms, grunting slightly with the effort. Wenjun had the pirate pinned on the ground as best he could, using his hand to cover the pirate’s mouth to stop him from screaming.

“Cheng, the window! We don’t have time!” Wenjun jerked his chin in the direction of the circular window that was along the wall. It was covered with glass, but it didn’t look as if it were made to hold. The younger noble nodded his head and ran over to the window. Setting the merman down, he checked the window for any opening only to find it was firmly sealed shut.

“Wenjun, it doesn’t open!” Chengcheng shouted, now hearing the sounds of the rest of the crew in the room across the hall. Wenjun had turned to wrestling with the pirate, grunting as he tried to keep him down and away from the merman.

“Break it or something!” Wenjun shouted before swearing as he felt a pain in his side. Sometime during the struggle, the pirate had managed to slide a dagger out from his waistband and stabbed it into the prince.

“Don’t you forget about me!” The pirate grunted, pushing Wenjun off him and onto the floor. Scrambling to stand, he started for Chengcheng who was looking around for things to break the window with. Lunging forward, the prince managed to nab the pirate’s ankle and drag him back down.

Panicked, Chengcheng bit his lip before steeling himself up and punching through the glass. The window shattered into the sea, small shards remaining on the outer lining of the frame. Pulling away a bloody fist, Chengcheng held back a small scream of pain. Small shards of glass stuck in his hand and he was quick to pluck out the larger shards, blood freely flowing from the cuts. Chengcheng, though used to pain from basic knight training back at the castle, was positive this was the most pain he felt in a while, but he knew that the merman watching him would make it all worth it.

Under him, Minghao watched with wide eyes, going between Wenjun and Chengcheng. Wenjun had pulled the dagger out of his side and was using it to fend off the pirate despite bleeding heavily from one side. Chengcheng flexed his hand in an attempt to get better feeling into it. Soon enough, Minghao felt himself being lifted once more, letting out a small squeak of surprise. He was enveloped in Chengcheng’s arms before feeling a fleeting kiss meet him lips. The noble stared down at the merman in earnest, expression just visible in the dim light.

“Wait for me…” Chengcheng whispered before moving Minghao towards the window, the merman managing to haul himself up for part of the way and slip out. He felt some of the glass catch on his tail, making small streaks of red on his green tail, but once Minghao hit the water below, he felt reinvigorated.

Back on the ship, Wenjun and Chengcheng were met with a nasty surprise. The rest of the pirates had awoken and were now converging on the bathroom where the merman was once held. Wenjun and Chengcheng were now severely outnumbered and their injuries didn’t give them much energy to fight. Clutching his wounded side, Wenjun paced back towards Chengcheng, exchanging a glance with the younger.

“Jumping?”

“Jumping.”

Using Wenjun’s shoulder as leverage, Chengcheng vaulted himself out of the window, boots first. He managed to take a few more shards of glass out with him, cursing as they cut him through his pants. Crashing into the waves below, Chengcheng felt arms wrap around him and bring him to the surface. His hand stung from the salt water, but his thoughts of pain were interrupted by the sound of a shout. As ungracefully as someone who was 187 centimeters could, Wenjun leapt out of the broken window, face plastered with fear as he crashed into the water. Chengcheng felt the arms of Minghao disappear from around his wait as the merman went to bring the prince up to the surface.

From the deck, Chengcheng could just make out Xinchun calling to them. In the light of the moon, it had seemed the aid had managed to get the small dinghy in position to be dropped down into the water. There was the sound of shouting before Xinchun disappeared for a moment before rushing back and waving his arms.

At this point, Wenjun and Minghao had joined Chengcheng bobbing in the waves, watching the action on deck unfold. Xinchun, using the same sword he used to free Wenjun and Chengcheng, had sliced down the ropes that connected the smaller boat to the ship, letting it crash down into the water without him.

“Xinchun! Jump in!” Wenjun screamed, trying to get the other to join them. The aid merely gave a small smile in the direction of the trio in the water before lunging forwards with his sword, letting out a battle cry.

Wenjun watched in horror as Xinchun faced the small crew of pirates on his own and was quickly overwhelmed, but still fighting back the best he could. On the horizon, the sun seemed to be just rising, casting light rays of yellow over the ocean. One of them caught on Xinchun’s sword as it was knocked out of his hand and over the side of the ship, landing in the water below with a resounding splash.

Chengcheng, merely turned away in the water, cursing. Wenjun felt frozen to the spot despite the water gently swaying them back and forth. How many people did he have to lose until the world was happy? Why him?

Suddenly, the boat which had been floating, forgotten, began to move towards Chengcheng and Wenjun. Under the water, Minghao had taken a rope and was leading it forward. He popped up on the surface, his own expression grim.

“Don’t let his effort go to waste… We need to get out of here,” the young merman pointed out, tugging on the rope. “You guys get in and I can pull this along. You both need rest.”

Without another word, Wenjun managed to climb into the dinghy with the help of the other couple, grunting with effort. Once inside, he helped bring Chengcheng in, his side aching in pain. He could hear the couple both asking each other about their respective injuries while Wenjun just sat there, numb. He didn’t move once he felt Minghao taking the rope and quickly leading them away from the ship.

First his mother, then Ronghao, then Zhengting, and now Xinchun. Was Wenjun just destined to lose everyone he was close to? At this point, that was what he felt down in the depths of his heart. A gentle nudge from Chengcheng brought him out of his thoughts as the younger held up a piece of cloth, obviously torn off from his shirt.

“Here… For your side,” the younger offered, Wenjun nodding as he silently took it and wrapped it around his wound the best he could.

They sat there and watched the pirate’s shift get further and further away as the sun rose in the distance. On it were two friends, now possibly lost to the world. And Wenjun couldn’t have felt more rotten about it. He felt Chengcheng squeeze his hand reassuringly, letting out a small sigh.

“I wish it didn’t end like this…”

“Me too. But, there’s not much else we can do about it…” Chengcheng paused, looking around the expanse of ocean around them. “In fact, I don’t even know what we could do. I don’t even know _where_ we are.”

Scooting forward, Chengcheng tugged gently on the rope Minghao was tugging in order to get the attention of the merman. Soon enough, the boat began to slow slightly and Minghao’s familiar mop of brown hair broke through the surface of the water.

“What’s up?”

“Um, I trust you and everything, but can I just ask where you’re bringing us?”

Minghao smiled brightly, now swimming beside the dinghy as he dragged it along the water. “I’m bringing you to my home! No one else knows about it, so we’ll be safe there!”

Chengcheng paused, blinking a few times before Wenjun spoke up from where he was sitting. “Justin, we can’t breathe underwater like you…” The three sat there in silence for a moment as Wenjun’s words sunk in, Minghao’s cheeks tinting red in embarrassment as Chengcheng began laughing. Even Wenjun chuckled, the corners of his lips going up in a small smile.

“W-Well, I’m sure we can figure something out! If Ting can get legs, you guys can get something to breath underwater with!” Justin huffed, trying to ignore the two humans laughing at him. The three quickly fell into light conversation, trying to get past what just happened. Though, it was mainly Chengcheng and Minghao conversing with Wenjun having an occasional input. They kept up the easy pace until Minghao came to a stop.

Chengcheng looked around, only seeing open and empty ocean around them on all sides. “Is this it? Kind of… Underwhelming if you ask me.”

Minghao laughed, looking bright as he answered. “Of course! It’s here, just really deep down. Like, super deep down.”

Chengcheng nodded his head, leaning over the edge to ruffle Minghao’s hair, smiling. “Alright then. I guess we can’t do much else than wait for you here.” He looked back towards Wenjun, who looked pale as he spaced out, eyes fixed on nothing in particular. “But if you can bring anything to help Wenjun… You might want to get that part of your trip done first.”

Minghao nodded, gaze lingering on the prince as well. “Any idea on what kind of things I should grab?”

The young noble merely sighed, bringing his hand back inside the dinghy. “Something to help with a wound on his side… As well as possibly a broken heart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: This fic has now broken 100 pages on the document I write on


	18. Good Night to You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Bad things happen to someone

Minghao couldn’t hold back his excitement as he spiralled down into the depths of the water. Below him, he could just begin to make out the wall that surrounded the city, towers just coming into view. With a burst of energy, he couldn’t hold back his accessory fins from popping out, giving him an extra boost. As he grew closer, the forms of what seemed to be soldiers were rising from the centre, no doubt sent to investigate. Quickly scanning them over, Minghao found what he was looking for and aimed his descent.

“Yanjun!” He cried as he crashed into the silver tailed merman with arms outstretched. Yanjun, not prepared for the impact, sunk down in the water. After processing who it was, Yanjun pushed Minghao back, examining him.

“Justin? Is that really you?” He asked softly, ignoring the confused looks the other guards around them gave. Minghao merely nodded happily before they shared a tight embrace, Yanjun letting out a deep sigh. “Holy shit, I thought we lost you for real…” He glanced around, frowning. “Is Zhengting not with you?”

All of Minghao’s excitement seemed to disappear at once, his body expression seeming to deflate. “He isn’t here right now…”

Yanjun frowned, staring at Justin intensely before sighing, bubble rising from his lips. “It seems like there’s more to this than I thought… Start heading back down to the city, I’ll catch up.” Picking up a similar pace from before, Minghao once again began his descent, this time his heart heavily weighed down.

Zhengting had tried so hard to free him, and he couldn’t even free himself. But this time, the young merman promised himself he would save the older boy. Zhengting had put enough effort into Minghao and it was high time he paid the older back.

Reinvigorated, the green tailed mermaid sped up, only to find Yanjun called back for him. “Hey, slow down there speed racer!”

With a small huff, Minghao slowed his pace to allow the soldier to catch up with him. He keep anxiously looking back at the other soldiers that came up with Yanjun, who followed behind them at a far more leisurely pace. They wouldn’t discover the two humans above water for now.

“Yanjun, we need to hurry! Where is everyone?” Minghao hissed, pulling on the arm of the older to get him to descend back into the city faster. Yanjun’s confusion was visible on his face, but he tried to match the pace Minghao was setting.

“Justin, hold _on_! Are you going to explain anything? Where’s Zhengting? Shouldn’t he be with you?” Yanjun stopped and pulled Minghao back, gaze hardening. The younger brushed off the look and merely looked frustrated, glancing back down towards the approaching city.

“This is about Zhengting! We need to go rescue him, but there’s no way I can do it alone… Please, I need to get everyone to help!” Minghao pleaded, continuing to drag Yanjun down towards the city. Without another word, the silver tailed merman nodded and began to lead the way towards the studio with Minghao in tow.

Ever since the youngest member of the troupe had gone missing, the other members had thrown themselves into non-stop practising. Even Xukun, who typically only joined on occasion, had spent more time down by the studio talking with everyone and trying to believe the two missing were doing fine. By now, it wasn’t unusual to see the group of six, Yanjun and Ziyi included, staying in the studio until late at night trying to immerse themselves in work.

Ignoring the looks given by passers-by, Minghao stormed into the studio, heading to the familiar practise room. Yanjun was close behind, watching the younger with worry. Immediately, the green tailed merman was met with silence before the cheers of Xukun, Linong, Linkai, Ziyi, and Zhangjing where echoing throughout the room. They all moved to mob the youngest member with hugs before he held his arms out.

“Hold it! Before we celebrate me, we need to save Zhengting!” Minghao clarified, fixing each member with an even stare. This caused the group to stop and share confused glances.

“Save Zhengting?” Linkai echoed, confused. “Wasn’t he the one who was trying to save you?”

Minghao nodding, biting his bottom lip. “I-It’s a long story…”

“We have time,” Xukun said with a shrug, moving to sit down before Minghao shook his head.

“Actually-“

“Actually, you don’t,” Minghao was cut off by Xikan, who was panting slightly. With one hand bracing himself in the door, he looking at the seven merman who were gathered. It seemed as though he just swam quickly to get there, panic on his face. “Zhengting went against the potion. He doesn’t have much time.”

“C-Can someone explain what’s going on?” Linong asked, worry evident in his voice. Zhangjing, who had moved next to Yanjun, nodded in agreement.

“I can on the way back towards the surface. We need to help some friends first,” Minghao explained. He grabbed the first aid kit they kept in the room before heading back out.

On their way up to the surface, Minghao explained as much as he could. From his imprisonment, to the party, to his temporary entrapment on the pirate ship before he was freed by Wenjun and Chengcheng. The other seven merman listened in silence, many of them only knowing what Yanjun and Zhangjing had reported a few days earlier.

“Wait, so you’re telling me you made _friends_ with these humans?”

Minghao pouted at Linkai’s comment, glancing towards the surface where the outline of the dinghy was just visible. “They’re not that bad! Chengcheng has become one of my best friends… He helped me a lot while I was up there…” Purposefully, the green tailed merman tried to hide his expression and the red that had covered his cheeks at the thought of the young noble.

“I mean, if Justin says they’re good people, I don’t see why we shouldn’t trust him,” Zhangjing pointed out, glancing nervously at Yanjun. “He’s right in saying not every human is bad…”

Minghao slowly began to smile as they reached the surface, nodding in agreement with Zhangjing’s comment. Motioning for the others to stop, he popped up onto the surface. Wenjun and Chengcheng were having a quiet conversation between them. The prince’s face was pale, but determined as they spoke. He must have been feeling the full extent of his injuries at this point, as they were directly under that sun that had risen high in the sky..

“Boo!” Minghao teased as he neared the pair, watching the duel expressions of shock, followed by annoyance, on the two humans. He laughed as Chengcheng lazily held one hand out for Minghao, pulling him in for a good tempered smack on the head.

“Watch yourself there, fish boy!” Chengcheng chided, a smile plastered on his face from the younger’s return. Wenjun also gave a small wave, his other hand supporting his injured side.

“First off, here! There should be bandages that work for you guys in here. Well, it’s more like I don’t see why they wouldn’t work…” The green tailed merman passed the first aid kit to the prince, who took it graciously. “Next is um… I have some friends who might be able to help us! If you’re okay with meeting them…”

Chengcheng had begun to help Wenjun apply the bandages as best he could, snorting at Minghao’s comment. “I feel like we’re going to meet them regardless of us wanting to, Justin.”

The younger let out a small huff before slipping back beneath the surface of the water. Wenjun hissed in pain as the sea-water soaked bandages were wrapped around his waist, the salt water stinging the open wound. Chengcheng focused on the task at hand, trying to ignore the sound of various merman breaking over the surface of the water alongside Minghao’s excited voice.

“Wenjun, Chengcheng, this is everyone! Everyone, meet Wenjun and Chengcheng!” Minghao beamed, holding his arms out towards the two humans with a smile on his face. Chengcheng grumbled under his breath as he finished applying the bandages and looked back towards the group that now surrounded them.

“Justin, that was a horrible introduction!” Chengcheng said with a roll of his eyes, tossing the first aid kit back to the younger. “I’m Fan Chengcheng and this dumbass here is Prince Bi Wenjun. Nice to meet you.”

Wenjun frowned at Chengcheng’s introduction, pursing his lips together. “We took care of Justin while he was locked up… I-I’m sorry about that, by the way. I promise he wasn’t hurt or anything, my father was just very… Taken with the fact that a merman had been caught.”

Minghao frowned at the mention of Ronghao, remembering the face of the man who sentenced his family to death. But now, just like the young merman’s family, the king was most likely deceased as well. He had yet to tell anyone, as there had been little time he could actually spend telling anyone, but the thought still hung in the back of his head.

“Well, as long as he wasn’t hurt, I guess we can thank you for that much,” Xukun swam forward, extending one hand towards Wenjun. “I’m the prince of the kingdom, Cai Xukun. A please to meet you.” To the best that he could, Wenjun took the merman’s hand and shook it. This was soon followed by the others introducing themselves as friends of Zhengting and Minghao, eventually ending on Xikan.

“I apologize for the later introduction, but I am Li Xikan, apprentice to the court potion master. And if we are to save Zhengting, we should be going. And quick.” He cast a worried glance towards the sun, which was now dipping past the highest point in the sky.

With a nod, Minghao began to lead the way back to the pirate ship, pulling the dinghy alongside Linong. They swam in silence for a while, no one quite knowing what to say before Ziyi eventually spoke up from Xukun’s side.

“So, what’s the deal about this pirate ship?”

Wenjun and Chengcheng exchanged awkward glances before retelling their own story from Dinghao. They explained the need for revenge in merman from the captain of the ship, citing the fact that one of their crew members had been spirited away by a merman and this was their only shot at revenge. They had planned on using Minghao to find other merpeople and have them feel the same thing as the captain who had lost one of his best crew members. During this explanation, Zhangjing and Yanjun kept exchanging glances between each other, both sharing a nervous expression.

“May I cut in and say something here?” Yanjun asked, cutting off Chengcheng’s thrilling retelling of the escape done that morning. He paused, nodding his head to let Yanjun speak. “I think this whole thing may be my fault…”

 

Linong looked back and slowed his pace. He furrowed his eyebrows together, tilting his head to look at Yanjun. “How could it be your fault? You’ve lived in the city your whole life!”

The silver tailed mermaid flinched slightly, looking at Zhangjing. “Well, not exactly…”

“What he means to say is that Yanjun was that crew member who went missing!” Zhangjing shouted, his hand gripped tightly in Yanjun’s own. The group slowed to a stop, staring at the couple.

“Years ago, I had just started out with a group of pirates… They picked me up off the street and told me about their dreams to make it big. I had joined them, but one day, I came across a merman who was exploring the port we were docked in.” Yanjun started before Zhangjing took over.

“I was on a journey to find myself, one of the dumb ones you take when you want to rebel against your parents,” Zhangjing explained, trying to rush past that part. “I didn’t think anyone would hear me singing, so I went into a small cave to write a new song and I met Yanjun there. We talked for a while and he came back and visited everyday.

“Eventually, he told me that he had to leave port and I didn’t want to lose him, so I followed their ship for a while. He’d come out and we’d have talks late at night. I’d tell him about life underwater and he’d tell me life above water… It was some of the best nights of my life.

“One day, while they stopped to restock at a different port, I had come across a sea witch. She seemed distressed about something. Apparently, one of the spells went wrong and she couldn’t bare to tell the people that it was because there wasn’t any love in it.”

“Any love in it…? Zhangjing, did you hear anything else about it? Like what happened? And how long ago was this?” Minghao whipped towards the oldest merman, eyes wide.

“N-No? I just know that she was upset that two people died because of her and she tried to warn them…” He paused to think about the other half of the question. “And it was around a decade ago I believe?”

 

“Everything makes sense now! I’ve got it!” Minghao shouted, earning confused looks from everyone else. “But we need to keep moving. Ziyi, take my rope. Zhangjing, you can finish first.”

Confused, the yellow tailed merman nodded and continued his story with the sun slowly getting lower in the sky and pirate ship now breaking over the horizon. “When I asked her what it was about, she didn’t answer me, but she told me that it didn’t work because the people weren’t in a true love. She said that most mermaid magic works on true love, but because true love is hard to come by anymore, magic almost never works. But, we got it to work once more.”

“On me,” Yanjun nodded towards his tail. “Our true love was enough for her magic to work.”

Xikan frowned, shaking his head. “That’s impossible! Magic hasn’t existed in years! I mean, potions have a sprinkling of magic’s essence, but not real magic.”

“I know this is all important to you guys and now we know who the pirates were upset about, but do we have any plans for our attack?” For the first time since they grouped together, Wenjun had spoke up. Xukun nodded in agreement from his position on Ziyi’s side.

“We can only do so much from the water. You two are going to have to find a way to get them down here,” Xukun said, nodding to Wenjun and Chengcheng in turn. “Once most of the crew is down here, rescue whoever needs it and we can leave. Sounds simple enough?”

“If you need, I can act as bait, seeing as though their target was probably me in the first place. And knowing Chaoze, he’ll probably come down here himself one way or another.” Yanjun added, separating himself from Zhangjing’s side. “I can draw their attention first while everyone else waits underwater.”

“What if they do something to you? You could get hurt!” Zhangjing protested before he was gently tugged back by Linkai who shook his head.

“This is Yanjun’s job. He needs to do this for him and them,” he said softly, Yanjun nodding in agreement. The silver tailed merman swam over and gave Zhangjing a soft kiss on the head, smiling.

“I’ll come back, I promise.” With one last sweet smile, Yanjun moved to the bow of the boat, taking a rope from Linong while Minghao took his back from Ziyi.

“We’re getting close, everyone go under. Yanjun and Justin can lead Wenjung and Chengcheng in. They can find a way up and we can take out anyone who comes down. Any questions?” Xukun looked around the group that circled around them and they all shook their heads, though Zhangjing still reluctant. With one last check, the mermen went back underwater while Yanjun and Minghao pulled Wenjun and Chengcheng along. The sun had sunk lower in the sky now that they neared the ship. There was a shout from the crow’s nest as someone noticed them, alerting the crew that was present.

Chengcheng stood up, taking over for Wenjun who was still weak from his injuries. “Hey, pirated assholes! We’ve got what you’re looking for!” He placed one foot on the point of the bow and crossed his arms in an attempt to look intimidating.

“You don’t have anything we want!” Jingzuo shouted from his position in the crow’s nest until he fixed his telescope down on the two bobbing heads in the water. The group watched him scramble down from his position and disappear on the ship before bringing back the captain and most of the crew to the railing on the ship.

“Lin Yanjun! Show yourself!” Chaoze shouted, hands gripping the edge of the boat, as he stared down the two mermen that were in the water.

“Come down here and I’ll show you myself,” Yanjun replied, a snide note in his voice. His goal of riling up Chaoze seemed to work as he immediately ordered another small boat to be lowered into the water.

Minghao and Yanjun pulled the dinghy in closer, keeping low in the water. Eventually, they stopped just far enough away from the boat that would cause Chaoze and his men to row over to where they had stopped. Slowly, the pirate’s boat was dropped into the water, Chaoze sitting in the middle with Zhixie and Maotong on either side of him. This left Honglin, Ruotian, and Jingzuo back on the deck. Wenjun took a deep breath as the three drew close, standing up to his full height behind Chengcheng to watch them approach.

And just as soon as they had dropped into the water, they were gone. With a loud splash, the boat was tipped over and the trio were grabbed by Linong, Linkai, and Ziyi. Springing into action, Wenjun and Chengcheng both leapt into the water, Xukun and Zhangjing each helping the two humans towards the rope that hung in the water.

“Zhengting! Don’t you go dying on me! Zhengting!” Wenjun shouted as he began to climb up the rope, grunting with effort. He could feel the stab wound from earlier began to open and bleed out once more, but he ignored it the best he could.

It didn’t take long for the remaining pirates to figure out what was happening, the three of them already waiting for Wenjun and Chengcheng. Spotting a familiar tuft of brown hair on deck, the prince began to swing on the rope. Using his body to his full advantage, Wenjung swung forward to wrap his legs around the nearest victim, Honglin, and pull the pirate back over the side of the ship, allowing him to fall into the water with waiting mermen below. Next to Wenjun, Chengcheng had followed a similar tactic, but had slightly more trouble bringing Jingzuo down.

Wenjun then jumped onto the ship to help the noble, sending the second pirate over the edge and into the water below. Chengcheng followed suit to jump onto the ship, giving Wenjun a high five with a smile as he did so. Last on the ship was Ruotian, and possibly one of the strongest pirates on the crew. He drew a sword on the pair, who were both without weapons.

Ruotian smirked, drawing his sword up. “Quality over quantity, huh?” He sneered, looking over he exhausted duo. Behind them, the setting sun lit the sky and water a deep red color, signaling the close of day nearing.

“You better believe we’re the quality part!” Chengcheng responded, charging forward. He ran past the pirate and aimed for a sword that had been left behind, kicking it up and catching it by the handle. “Wenjun, catch!” Running around the side, Chengcheng managed to find a second left behind from one of the three who went down first and slide it over to the prince. Stopping it with one boot, Wenjun lifted the sword. Years of practise allowed his body to fall naturally into an offensive position as he slowly walked towards the pirate. Chengcheng approached from the other side, effectively sandwiching the pirate between the two of them. Realizing that now both of his opponents were armed, Ruotian clicked his tongue and dropped his sword, raising his arms.

“Fine, whatever, take your damn boyfriend back. He’s good as dead anyways,” Ruotian said before standing by the railing and sending himself over the side, diving down into the water.

Immediately, Wenjun went over to the group that was tied to the mast, slicing through the rope with ease. Xinchun was crying now, immediately finding solace in Dinghao’s arms as the rope fell.

“W-Wenjun, it’s bad… I couldn’t do anything to help, I’m sorry…” XInchun sobbed, looking back at the prince who had gone and gathered Zhengting in his arms.

“Zhengting, Zhengting listen to me. I’m here. Dear God, please Zhengting, stay with me. Please, please, please…”

*

Zhengting couldn’t find himself falling into any kind of restful sleep after he watched Wenjun leave with the others. He sat in the cage, slumped against the bars. Though his physical body ached with pain from the day before, a different kind of pain had developed in his heart. It was a deep pain that settled in his chest and it felt like nothing could touch it. Zhengting had never felt like he was being slowly eaten away until that day. It was a hollow and empty feeling that hurt more than anything on his body.

Soon, he heard a commotion on the deck, fervent shouting filling the otherwise empty sound of the ship. With every sound, Zhengting felt a pounding in his head that seemed to grow stronger with every passing moment. In the distance, he heard the sound of several things splashing into the water and managed a small smile against the pain his body was currently feeling. They were free.

With a loud bang, the sound of the door leading down to the hull opened, followed by the stomping of the captain followed by one of the crewmates. Zhengting shrunk back in his cage, keeping a careful eye on them. He watched their mouths move and direct words at him, but for some reason, it all sounded like it had been muffled. He couldn’t make out any of the sounds and watched the pirates in confusion until the gate of the cage was opened and clothes were thrown in Zhengting’s direction. He carefully put them on, his shoulders protesting with every movement. Once dressed, Chaoze shouted some more muffled words, but Zhengting couldn’t tell what they were.

“I-I can’t hear you…” He said softly, eyes darting between the two pirates. That seemed to grab the captain’s attention as he narrowed his eyes, disbelief written all over his features. Zhengting bit his lip, trying to think. “You’re all muffled. I can’t hear you!”

There was another pause as the other pirate spoke to the captain, his voice coming out just as muffled. A slow fear began to creep through the former merman, Xikan’s warning from days ago suddenly ringing clear in his mind. The threat of Zhengting’s life was no joke and now he was feeling the full effects of the curse. In the midst of this realization, the second pirate went into the cage to drag Zhengting out, shouting more inaudible words.

Limp as a rag doll, Zhengting allowed himself to be dragged out. Soon, the muffles of the pirates faded into complete silence. He could see mouths moving, but nothing was registering. In a last ditch effort to check, Zhengting screamed as loud as he could. Chaoze and Honglin both covered their ears as he did so before the captain lashed out and kicked Zhengting square in the jaw and sending him sprawling across the floor. Though the pain was just another bit added onto what he already felt, it confirmed his belief. Zhengting had gone deaf.

Now laying limply on the floor, the former merman had allowed himself to be lifted up by the pirates and roughly pushed back onto the deck. He remembered the day before where there was the sound of the crew yelling back and forth and even the occasional seabird cawing overhead. Now, Zhengting was wrapped in an isolating silence as he was escorted across the deck to where a familiar body was hunched.

In the middle of the deck was Dinghao cradling Xinchun’s head, crying softly. From what Zhengting could see, Wenjun’s aid was wounded heavily, blood dripping across his torso and various cuts lining his body. His chest rose slightly with shallow breaths, every breath looking like a struggled. Dinghao himself bore some wounds as well, but these weren’t as bad.

Beside Zhengting, he could see Chaoze talking about something, but he disregarded it as he stumbled towards where the two others were on the deck. Fumbling slightly, as if his body was not his own, Zhengting grasped Xinchun’s hand tightly. He could feel Dinghao’s gaze on him, but he chose to ignore that as well. Instead, with a mouth that seemed to fight every movement, Zhengting tried to talk.

He spoke about how thankful he was for Xinchun for rescuing Wenjun, how he was sorry for ruining the party, and how much he loved Wenjun. Zhengting had no clue if what he was saying was audible, but he tried his best to get one last sentence out before he knew his body was going to give up.

“P-please… if you can tell Wenjun anything… tell him I-I’m sorry for lying… and I love him…” Zhengting managed to slur before another agonizing pain struck him in the chest. Dropping Xinchun’s hand, he clutched his shirt over his heart, body feeling as if it were becoming heavier and heavier. Zhengting attempted to scream, but soon found that his voice wasn’t working. Nothing came out past his lips and his throat felt like lead as he tried to produce any more sound. Collapsing on his side, Zhengting laid on the deck, eyes fixed on nothing in particular.

Above them, the sun was beginning to beat down, the ocean offering no solace from the heat. Zhengting couldn’t feel it, though. His body had no feeling as he watched one pirate kick him in the gut. Zhengting blinked slowly, struggling to even keep his eyes open. Soon enough, there was the feeling of the various pirates testing out how far they could go, all of them amazed as blood oozed from these new wounds and Zhengting didn’t even as much as flinch.

Eventually, the captain waved them off to return to their duties, keeping two of them behind to tie up the trio on the base of the mast. Dinghao was situated next to Xinchun, softly speaking to the injured aid, and Zhengting was located on Xinchun’s other side.

In all his life, Zhengting was pretty sure he had never felt so isolated before. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t hear, and he couldn’t move. At some point throughout the day, with another massive pain spiking through his chest, even the salty smell of the ocean, which was a comforting scent, had disappeared and left Zhengting with nothing. He was a prisoner of his own body, his mind trapped in what may as well have been another cage. On occasion, Zhengting could see out of the corner of his eye Xinchun trying to say something to him, but he couldn’t tell what it was or make any movement to answer.

The sun had passed the highest point in the sky when the pain began to spread. Instead of the pulses of pain he felt from his chest throughout the morning, it became an ever apparent feeling. In fact, it was his only feeling. It slowly snaked through his body, pain taking over his arms, torso, and legs. And this pain was like nothing Zhengting had felt in his life. Unlike most injuries where he’s learned to endure and take in stride, this pain was intense. It filled his whole being with a tight grip, as if every bone was breaking over and over again. If Zhengting didn’t know better, he’d say they were.

The hours he spent on the deck felt like years. Watching the sun slowly tick down was the constant reminder that Zhengting was indeed dying. His body shutting down as just the physical part of it that Zhengting could deal with, but the pain that came with it drew from his emotions. The more he was left to his own thoughts, the more Zhengting thought about Wenjun and the fleeting, but beautiful moments they shared together. Wenjun helping him walk, shyly delivering the invitation, and the wonderful, fleeting kiss they shared on the balcony. And when the sun had begun to touch the horizon did Zhengting finally figure everything out.

The pain that had taken over his body was the pain of his love and feeling of betrayal for Wenjun. Lying to the one person who made Zhengting feel like he was worth something and that he was his own person was the worst offense the former merman could have done. And now he was feeling the ultimate consequence of his words.

The sun had begun to just dip beyond the ocean when Zhengting heard something. At first, he believed his mind was simply playing a cruel trick on him, reminding him one last time about the sound of Wenjun’s voice before he heard it again. In the cruel, isolated world Zhengting had immersed himself in, Wenjun’s voice rang out loud and clear.

“Zhengting! Don’t you go dying on me! Zhengting!”

For the first time that day, Zhengting felt his lips curl up in a small smile. His very own prince charming had come to rescue him, but the brunette knew this wasn’t some fantasy story. No matter how much he wished for Wenjun to come and sweep Zhengting off his feet and go back to live together, that wasn’t a possibility. It was already far too late and he was far too gone.

At one point, the ropes slackened around Zhengting and he noticed the edges of his vision becoming dark. His breathing, which had been pained, but possible, was slowly becoming harder and harder to endure. His lungs, like the rest of his body, seemed to be growing too heavy to move and enveloped in a deep pain. With the bit of vision he had left, he could see most of the sun setting beyond the waves of the ocean. His time was coming.

Then, as if he were in a fantasy novel, Zhengting felt something again. Wenjun had come towards him. He bore some injuries, but none of them looked fatal. He had taken Zhengting in his arms and began to speak quickly, but Zhengting could just make out the words.

“Zhengting, Zhengting listen to me. I’m here. Dear God, please Zhengting, stay with me. Please, please, please…” Like rain, soft teardrops fell from Wenjun’s eyes onto Zhengting. The prince’s face was distorted in pain and love as he hugged Zhengting as close as he could, willing the other to heal.

With whatever strength Zhengting found within himself, he reached up and slowly swiped the tears out of Wenjun’s eyes. A smile had graced his lips as the brunette found it in himself to speak once more, vision turning blurry and pain deepening inside his heart.

“I’m glad… I got to see you… One last time…” Zhengting whispered before the pain had become too much. He felt his hand, which had rested on Wenjun’s cheek, fall down to the side. His vision went black and lungs stilled. With one of his own tears falling down his cheek and mixing with the countless ones shed by Wenjun, Zhengting’s life slowly came to an end in the arms of the man he loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't the end! I do plant for another couple of chapters for now, so it isn't over. Again, I'd like to thank all my friends who help me think through this, mostly Ana and Soph, and everyone who comments and leaves kudos. It truly means the world to me when anyone lets me know what they think about it :) I am on twitter too so if you ever want to yell at me for this, that's the best place to find me! #CHAB #sorrynotsorry


	19. Waiting to be Signed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is kind of short, I've been super busy with my work lately, but I really wanted to get this out!

Xinchun had been with Wenjun for as long as he could remember. Growing up, they had both hung out in the servants quarters while their parents worked their lives away at the beck and call of the royal family. They were often found outside on the grounds, playing some game of hide and seek, always together. Through all those years, Xinchun had never seen Wenjun cry once.

Even during his mother’s funeral, Wenjun refused to shed a tear and instead kept a strong face as he watched her be put to rest. During his time in which he moved from orphan to adopted son of the king, Wenjun never cracked under the pressure he was put under. New classes, years of catching up that he needed to work on, Wenjun did them all with a serious attitude and smile on his face.

Xinchun had never seen Wenjun break once. Until today, that is.

On the deck of the pirate ship, Wenjun sobbed and cried, holding Zhengting’s body close to him. The prince’s howls of despair seemed to pierce the night sky, creating a silence over everything else. Xinchun nervously walked towards Wenjun with an outstretched hand before he felt a hand on his own shoulder. Dinghao frowned, shaking his head.

“Not now. He needs time,” the former pirate whispered. The aid nodded, moving back. Together, they stood there and watched as the prince’s wails turned into hoarse curses and shouts, eventually fizzing out into useless little whimpers. At some point, Chengcheng had come up and nudged Wenjun, trying to get the older boy to move.

“C’mon Wenjun. His friends need to know too…” The young noble whispered, leaning down to Wenjun’s crouched position.

“I-I can’t… If I let him go again… He might vanish…” Wenjun said through a series of sniffles. He looked up at Chengcheng with wide eyes, still filled to the brim with tears. “It hurts so much…”

Chengcheng hugged Wenjun tightly, letting out a small sigh. “I know it does, Wenjun, but you have to move sooner or later…” He looked towards Xinchun, jerking his chin. The aid paused before going over to Wenjun, Dinghao following close behind, and eventually enveloped Wenjun in a soft hug as well. The prince was shaking, either due to emotional stress or exhaustion, and seemed like he was at his limit. Gently coaxing him, Xinchun attempted to get Wenjun to stand.

“Come on… Everyone is waiting for us at the bottom. Bring Zhengting with you too,” Xinchun whispered. Wenjun stayed in place for a moment before shakily getting up, continuing to hold Zhengting close to him, Xinchun and Chengcheng supporting him on either side. Dinghao moved over to where they climbed up and looked down to see the dinghy tied onto the ends of the rope, empty. He began to pull it up, grunting with the effort.

Xinchun gently rubbed the prince’s back as he waited by the side of the ship. His eyes were still fixed on the brunette in his arms, clouded over with emotion. Once the boat made it up to them, Wenjun gingerly stepped in with Zhengting, cradling the boy close to his chest. Xinchun and Chengcheng followed, only pausing when Dinghao didn’t join them.

“Dinghao?” Xinchun whispered, looking back at the former pirate. The older only wore a sad smile on his face as he held the lever to let the dinghy back into the water.

“You’re needed somewhere else now, love. Watch over them,” Dinghao said softly. Before Xinchun could say anything else, the side of the pirate’s ship quickly filled his vision, Dinghao remaining on the deck. The aid stood there on the smaller boat for a moment, heart breaking into a million pieces. He knew that no matter what Dinghao had done in the past, he still loved the pirate.

“You okay?” Chengcheg’s voice jolted Xinchun out his thoughts. The younger had a look of concern on his face, but at this point, it was hard to tell who it was for.

“I’ll be fine. I’m more worried about Wenjun…” Xinchun responded, casting a glance to the prince. He was sitting, huddled in the middle of the boat with Zhengting resting in his lap. The former merman’s face was relaxed, as if he were sleeping, but Wenjun’s tears that were cascading over that face also spoke more volume than anything.

Eventually, they reached the surface of the water once more. Several of the pirates were bobbing at the surface, held back by Linkai, Ziyi, and Linong. Yanjun and Zhangjing were talking softly with Chaoze a fair distance away, the captain looking fairly distressed. Meanwhile, Xukun, Minghao, and Xikan immediately crowded the small boat as it landed. Their expressions immediately dropped once they saw Xinchun and Chengcheng’s expressions as well as the huddled form of Wenjun.

The merman didn’t move or make any sound for a moment. The only audible noises were those of the waves hitting the side of the larger ship. By this point, the moon had begun to rise, stars twinkling overhead. Even Yanjun had halted his conversation to move closer to the group once Zhangjing had noticed the appearance of the boat.

“H-He’s just sleeping, right? It’s not like he actually d-died or anything, right?” Minghao said from his place on the side of the ship. His words were only met with the soft sounds of Wenjun’s sobbing. “He’s asleep, right!? Xikan, Chengcheng? He’s asleep!?” Minghao’s voice became more and more distressed once he realized no one was answering him, looking between the group that had gathered. With a small huff, he swam to where Wenjun was sitting with Zhengting’s body, reaching out one hand to touch Zhengting.

Chengcheng gently reached a hand out to stop Minghao, shaking his head. Minghao looked at the space between his hand and the older, reality finally kicking in. It didn’t take long for the youngest merman to begin crying. At first, it was a few sniffles before he began to wail, his pain and sadness nearly palpable with every cry. Chengcheng gently reached into the water and helped Minghao on the boat, settling the boy on his lap next to Zhengting. With a quivering hand, the green tailed merman reached for Zhengting’s hand, only to find it limp and cold in his own.

“It’s all my fault… This is all my fault. If I had just listened to him when he told me to stay in the city, none of this would have happened…” Minghao whimpered through the tears, hand tightly holding onto Zhengting’s. “He wouldn’t have had to go find me. He’d still be here…”

Chengcheng gently kissed the crown of Minghao’s head, arms wrapped around the merman’s waist. “Don’t blame yourself… It’s not your fault.” The younger didn’t respond, but continued to sniffle and cry. The other mermen bowed their heads, a moment of silence surrounding boat. At this point, the pirates were long forgotten as the grieving for Zhengting began.

“We should at least bring him home…” Xukun was the first to break the moment, gazing sadly at Zhengting. “He’d probably like to be at rest with his family.”

Wenjun immediately looked like he wanted to protest this, but looking at Minghao’s face silenced him. The younger’s eyes had puffed up from his excessive tears and he was nodding his head fervently, hands still clutched around Zhengting’s. Wenjun let out a small sigh and nodded as well, brushing hair out of Zhengting’s face. “I-I can still visit him, right?” The prince asked softly, looking at the mermen around him. Xukun nodded, his smile gentle.

“Of course you can. No one will stop you,” The merfolk prince looked up towards Minghao, who was still in Chengcheng’s lap. “Justin, do you know the way to your home from here?”

It took a second for the question to register, but the younger nodded his head slowly. With one last glance at Zhengting and another long hug from Chengcheng, the green tailed merman slipped back into the water, taking the point of the group. Behind him Ziyi and Linong both held the ropes of the boat, tugging it behind them. Xukun, Linkai, Yanjun, Xikan, and Zhangjing surrounded the dinghy on all sides, creating a circle around it. In the middle of the boat, Wenjun straightened himself up, but still kept Zhengting on his lap. Chengcheng and Xinchun sat on either side, offering comfort. Under the light of the full moon, Minghao began to wordlessly lead the group towards his original home, fighting off any more tears that could have leaked.

The group swam in silence, disturbing the black water with their fluid movements. Stars reflected on the water seemed to shimmer before disappearing in the small waves left mermen, almost as if they were crying for the loss of Zhengting as well. At some point, though he never noticed it, Wenjun began to mindlessly hum a soft melody. He didn’t know where it came from, but it was sweet and somber, almost like it was designed for Zhengting. He continued the tune until the moon was high in the sky, Minghao slowing his pace before stopping nearly completely. He dipped under the water for a moment before coming back up, nodding his head.

“We’re here…” He whispered softly, obviously trying not to break down once more. With a nod, Xukun nodded to the others, letting out a deep breath.

At once, the humans in the small boat were surrounded by a series of lights of different colors. From under the water, the tails of the accompanying merman began to glow, the light colors dancing off the movement of the water. In his mind, Wenjun could tell now was the time. He stood up in the boat, Zhengting’s body in his arms. Minghao swam forward, his own tail glowing a deep green color. Wenjun passed Zhengting over to the younger before going into the water himself. Together, the two of them swam into the centre of the circle, Zhengting’s body softly floating on the top of the water. At once, the colors of the tails began to glow a familiar purple hue, lighting up the faces of the merman.

Xukun began to speak, his own words overcome with emotion, but Wenjun heard none of them. Instead, his eyes were trained on Zhengting’s peaceful expression, features lit up by the purple lights. Around him, he could hear the sounds of the others sobbing softly, but none of it registered.

Beautiful Zhengting, peaceful Zhengting, dead Zhengting. 

Those words seemed to circle around Wenjun’s head, as whatever ceremony came to a close. Xukun’s hand on Wenjun’s shoulder distracted him, causing the prince to look back towards the navy tailed merman.

“Would you like to bring him down?” The merfolk prince whispered, his gaze full of his own pain. Wenjun merely paused for a moment before looking towards Minghao, who was busy failing at putting on a brave front.

“Will you join me?” Wenjun asked the younger, a sad smile on his features. Minghao paused before smiling in return, taking one of Zhengting’s hands. The tall prince took the other hand and a deep breath before heading underwater.

They were surrounded by the purple light once more as the others followed them down, leading Minghao and Wenjun to the bottom. The bottom came quicker than Wenjun had thought, the vague outline of houses around them. It seemed as though Minghao was leading him towards a specific house, door slightly ajar. Wenjun knew he was good at holding his breath, but the pressure was making it hard to maintain pace with the merman.

Once inside, they led Zhengting to a bed. His eyes were closed and hair moved softly in the current of the water. Wenjun, whose eyes began to sting from the salt water, blinked. He could feel the pressure of the water above them pressing down on his lungs and a bubble of air left him. Minghao had left after depositing Zhengting, his emotions clear as day on his face. Wenjun stayed there for a few moments more, knowing his air supply was running short.

With one final decision, he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss onto Zhengting’s cold lips, feeling the final bubbles of air leaving his lungs and water in to replace it. There were the sounds of voices outside the house as they called out to Wenjun, but the prince merely allowed a peace to fill his body as his vision faded to black and he slowly floated down onto Zhengting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left.


	20. Winter Light

The water rolled up softly onto the beach, sun setting overhead. It had been several months since everything happened, winter now settling into the quaint country. Snow glistened along the upper ridge of the beach, mostly undisturbed, save for a single pair of footprints that went down to the beach. Huddled up in warm clothes, Quanzhe stood on the shore of the beach, looking out at the horizon. He let out a small sigh, breath immediately turning into a small cloud that circled around his head. Looking around, the memories of the last time he came here with Wenjun brought a small smile to his lips.

What he didn’t know, though, was that time would be their last together on this beach.

The blond blew into his hands as his thoughts went through the past through months. First was meeting Minghao, the fun merman who caught Chengcheng’s heart. The gardener had to admit it, though, they were cute together. Despite his initial fear of the merman, Minghao had turned out to be one of the best people in the castle. Chengcheng had sent Quanzhe to watch over him once the young noble’s parents had gotten overly suspicious about the amount of time they were spending together. Though their interactions were limited to greetings, it was obvious Minghao was similar to them; just someone growing up who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Next came the mystery man, Theo. At least, that’s what Quanzhe thought his name was until he learned it was actually Zhengting. In reality, he mostly knew about Theo from Wenjun himself. After going to visit Yanlei and Jeffrey with Xinchun, the prince had this new air to him. Apparently, it had been love at first sight, much to the aid’s amusement. While Quanzhe had heard the teasing from Xinchun, he heard a much more softer detailing of the man from Wenjun.

Truly, it didn’t take much to tell the prince was absolutely smitten with Zhengting. Every time he was mentioned, Quanzhe saw an expression on Wenjun’s face that was completely new. It was soft and thoughtful, often accompanied by a real smile and not just one of the ones the prince wore to please the king’s council. It was similar to the one Zeren and Yanchen shared when they were on one of their “dates” around the castle.

The gardener let out a small sneeze as he continued his small stroll down the beach, staying away from the water. For a second he thought about how the merfolk dealt with the cold and couldn’t help but chuckle slightly, imagining them in puffy coats like the one he was wearing now. Though they had worked on developing better relations with the merfolk after everything had happened, it had been a slow process. Oftentimes, people were so caught up in the prejudices they held for the mysterious people of the sea, it had been hard to really let the idea go beyond the walls of the castle.

But, the former king Ronghao had really fought for the connection between the two races. Quanzhe paused in his thoughts, thinking about how awkward it sounded to have the word former in front of king Ronghao. After the events of the party, he had formally stepped down from his position under the crown. Though, it wasn’t under the best circumstances.

After the pirates had raided the main hall and made off with Xinchun, Zhengting, Wenjun, Chengcheng, and Minghao, everyone had been rushed to the medical wing. Ronghao had been monitored into the night with his bullet wound. Though not life threatening, the king had gone into shock after watching Wenjun be stolen away from right under his nose. Quanzhe had sat with Ronghao for a bit afterwards, silently listening as the king mumbled how it was his fault that everything had happened and he was the one to blame for Wenjun’s kidnapping. Even the next morning, when Chengcheng’s family came in, enraged, Ronghao merely sat there and took the verbal beating they offered him.

The days following the party, the overall organization of the castle felt like it had fallen to pieces. Quanzhe, though on the sidelines, watched everyone scramble about in attempts to clean the remains of the party and fix the castle back to the way it was. News people from everywhere came to the gates to get a glimpse on the action but the captain of the guard, Yue Yue, had all available men work on keeping them out, while the others were behind helping fill any security gaps in the castle.

Quanzhe stopped his pacing, looking up at the moon that had risen higher into the sky. It was a moon like that one in which he had heard anything about his kidnapped friends. One of the mermen, Linong, had gone ahead of everyone to notify someone that something had happened. Luckily enough, Zeren and Quanzhe had been on the beach, fruitlessly searching for any signs of their friends.

As if on cue, Quanzhe heard his name called from the frosty ridge, Zeren standing there under Yanchen’s arm. He was bundled ever more so than the gardener, but he still continued to have chattering teeth. Looking back over the water, Quanzhe walked along the beach back up to where his friends were waiting for him.

“You’re turning into Wenjun, jeez,” Zeren muttered, walking slowly between Quanzhe and Yanchen. “He always used to walk along the beach like that.”

Quanzhe sighed, biting his lip. “Why do you have to say it like that?” Zeren opened his mouth to respond before closing it, and huddling closer to Yanchen.

“Well, I mean, things are different now… We can’t go back to how it was no matter how hard we try,” Yanchen said softly, rubbing his boyfriend’s shoulder affectionately. “It’s been a while, but it’s still hard to adapt.”

Quanzhe nodded in agreement, looking down as they walked along the well-worn path back to the castle. In all honesty, they all felt slightly weird about returning to the castle. It had become oddly quiet in their small group, their time spent together seeming to get more and more limited every day. It didn’t help that the snowy winter was the slowest time of the year for the gardener. This led him to wandering what seemed to feel like the empty hallways of the castle by himself without his usual gang of friends shouting and joking around with him.

Eventually, the group made it back to the castle, feeling a rush of warmth as they entered by the servant’s quarters. Shedding their boots and layers, Quanzhe nodded goodnight to the couple before heading off to his own room, still feeling a bit of a chill in his bones.

“Get plenty of rest! Tomorrow will be busy!” Yanchen called after him, waving with one arm while the other held Zeren close to him. The gardener nodded in response and gave a small wave back. Following the familiar hallways to his room, he pushed open the door to find Xinchun already in the room, focused on a set of papers on his desk.

“I’m back,” Quanzhe said softly, trying not to interrupt whatever the other was doing. Xinchun waved a hand in a lazy greeting. Dinghao was settled on his boyfriend’s bed, flipping through a book.

“Welcome back,” the former pirate greeted, looking above the pages to watch Quanzhe move to his own side of the room. “You ready for tomorrow?”

The youngest sighed, plopping down on his bed. “You know, everything has changed so much, and now even this… I miss the old days with everyone.”

“It’s called growing up, Quanzhe. Sometimes it comes sooner than you think,” Xinchun responded from his hunched position, shuffling through the papers. Quanzhe merely pouted, hugging his pillow.

“I know that! It just feels like we didn’t have to do this whole ‘growing up’ thing not too long ago,” The blond replied with a pout on his lips. “First, Chengcheng decided to leave us for Justin and now this!”

Dinghao placed his book down, snickering. “Well, if you ask me, you just sound like you’re jealous that you’re the only single person left!”

“That is _not_ it!” Quanzhe snapped back, only for the couple to laugh in response, Dinghao winking.

“That literally just proves it, flower boy. Don’t worry, I’m sure your spring will come eventually~!”

Quanzhe huffed, turning his back on the couple, who then went into a quiet conversation. Settling into his bed, the gardener tried his best to get some rest before the next day, mind floating back to the day his friends had returned.

_It had been several days since the party. Quanzhe had heard the rumors of others losing hope that the prince would ever return, lost out at sea to the pirates who took them away. He was pacing along the shoreline behind the castle, trying to brainstorm his own idea on rescuing his friend. The king was too weak to send out the ships and the council feared another attack, so most of the soldiers were told to remain by the castle and around the city._

_Just before he thought about gathering his friends up for their own rescue mission, there was a shout in the distance. On the horizon, a small boat seemed to be coming in Quanzhe’s direction, moving at a fairly fast clip. Rushing towards the water, Quanzhe squinted his eyes to try and get a better look at the person in the boat. In it sat Xinchun, alone, waving his arms. He was being pulled by someone in the water, though it was hard to tell exactly who it was._

_Zhengting and Wenjun were nowhere in sight._

Quanzhe sighed before eventually drifting off to sleep, his breathing slowly evening out. On the other side of the room, Xinchun and Dinghao watched the younger before starting back up their talk, making sure he was asleep so they wouldn’t disturb him any further.

“Poor kid. I can’t believe he offered to do the flowers for this all by himself,” Dinghao said softly, taking Xinchun’s hand in his own, “He’s been working day and night to make this all perfect…”

“You know, he really looked up to Wenjun. I think this is his way of thanking him,” Xinchun responded. “We all want to make this perfect for him. For the both of them, really. Without Zhengting, none of this would have happened.”

Dinghao nodded, twining his fingers in with Xinchun’s. In the distance, the sound of the clock tower was heard, ringing several times before stopping. At this point, the aid was all but tugged into bed, cuddling up to his boyfriend and letting out a deep breath. Feeling lips kissing the top of his head and a soft “good night”, Xinchun followed suit of the rest of the castle and drifted off to sleep, the thoughts of the next day running through his head.

*

The castle had been abuzz since early that morning. Quanzhe had been the first person up, finding sleep hard to come by and waking up several times throughout the night before giving up. He was going around the castle, making sure every white rose was perfect in their vases and not a single one had wilted. After that, he joined some of the others in shoveling away the snow that had piled up in the front walkway after that night’s snowfall.

He was later gathered by Zeren, who offered the blond breakfast. They chattered away in the servant’s quarters, both trying to calm their nerves for the day. Later on, Xinchun dragging a half-awake Dinghao joined, and Yanchen was last, finally looking satisfied when he saw the group was already together.

“You guys all ready for today?” He beamed, kissing Zeren’s forehead before going to get his own meal. There was a communal groan in response, no one seeming ready for the day. “Oh, come on! We’ve been planning for this for ages! How are you not excited?”

“Because we’ve been planning this for so long! I just want it to end!” Zeren groaned, sliding his bowl forward to plop his head down on the table. “We still need to get ready after this and I remember nothing from the rehearsal yesterday and-”

“Zeren, stop, I think you’re scaring Zhezhe,” Dinghao said with a snicker, looking at the horrified look on the young gardener’s face.

“I don’t remember anything from the rehearsal either!” The blond squeaked, eyes going wide. There was a moment of silence before the group fell into nervous laughter. Yanchen settled next to Zeren, his signature smile gracing his features.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure everything will be just fine. If anything, just be glad you’re not Wenjun!”

“Guys, it’s only 8 and you’re already bad mouthing me?” As if on cue, the older male walked in, smiling as he saw his friends. Alive and well, King Bi Wenjun was immediately tackled into a hug from Quanzhe and Zeren, laughing as they reached up to ruffle his hair.

“Ready for the big day?” Xinchun called, getting up from the table and nudging Wenjun’s shoulder. The king nodded, a smile on his features.

“I think I am? I mean, it doesn’t feel like today is the day?” He said with an awkward laugh, tilting his head to one side. Zeren merely rolled his eyes, pushing Wenjun away.

“Alright, Wenjun is officially the worst groom ever, he isn’t even ready!”

“That’s what we’re here for, though!” Yanchen chimed, placing the dishes in the sink before getting up. “Everyone ready to start getting ready?”

The group cheered in affirmation, Wenjun leading the way out and back towards the main part of the castle where they would get changed for the wedding. As his friends joked and ran around him, he smiled and watched them silently, thankful for their presence. Without them, the king wouldn’t even be able to think where he’d be now. His mind flashed back to that fateful day, what felt like ages ago now, as his feet led him throughout the routine of his day.

With one final decision, he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss onto Zhengting’s cold lips, feeling the final bubbles of air leaving his lungs and water in to replace it. There were the sounds of voices outside the house as they called out to Wenjun, but the prince merely allowed a peace to fill his body as his vision faded to black and he slowly floated down onto Zhengting.

_It happened suddenly, but there was the sensation of arms around Wenjun that tugged him away from Zhengting’s body. His mind was too hazy to fight back, but he felt himself get dragged further and further away from his love before he passed out completely._

_A while later, there was the feeling of air being rushed into his lungs, body immediately trying to dispel the water that had filled them up. Jolting awake, the first wave of sea water passed Wenjun’s lips as he coughed and leaned over in the small boat. His chest ached with the effort, injuries from the pirates stinging and pulsing with pain as the final bout of water was out of his body. Wenjun was left coughing and heaving for breath with a gentle hand on his back. In the water in front of him was Zhengting, alive and worried._

_“Y-you’re okay! Zhengting you’re okay! Holy shit, guys! Zhengting is okay!” The brunette cheered, coughing as he immediately ran out of breath. He could hear Xinchun at his side telling Wenjun to calm down and breathe, but that didn’t stop the prince from grabbing the merman’s face and pulling him into a long kiss, chest swelling with emotions._

_Afterwards, he felt Zhengting push him away slightly, causing Wenjun to let out a small disappointed whine. That’s when he noticed it: Zhengting had a tail. His arms were decorated with delicate scales and eyes gleamed with the sheen that protected them from the harsh water. He was no longer human._

_“I-I can’t be with you anymore. Wenjun, I-I’m so sorry, I-” Zhengting had began to fumble into an apology, only for Wenjun to jump back into the water, immediately wrapping the merman up in a hug._

_“I don’t care what you are. I love you for you, either as a human or as a merperson. Won’t you let me at least do that?” Wenjun whispered softly, tucking a piece of hair behind Zhengting’s ear and softly bumping their foreheads together. Unable to speak, Zhengting merely nodded, returning the hug in earnest._

_“Well, I wouldn't say that you have to separated for the rest of your lives…” From a little ways away, another mermaid had approached the group, watching with interest. Zhangjing, who was with the rest of the mermen a little ways off, gasped._

_“It’s her! That’s the sea witch!”_

_The mermaid sniffed, shooting a glare in Zhangjing’s direction. “Hmph, I grant your wish and that’s how you repay me? If you’re going to introduce me, you may as well use my proper title. My name is Cheng Xiao, I am the court’s official potion master and one of the remaining merfolk who can still use the magic our ancestors used. Any questions?”_

_Wenjun paused for a second before answering, looking at Zhengting. “I-Is there anyway that we can still be together?”_

_Cheng Xiao looked towards the boat where Xinchun and Chengcheng both sat, taking a moment to process the question. “With a little help, it may be possible…”_

“Earth to lover boy! We’re almost done here, are you all set?” Zeren was waving a hand in Wenjun’s face, shocking the king out of his thoughts. All morning he had been lost in his memories, absently going along with whatever his friends had led him to. Now, he was standing there in a pristine black suit, tailored to his body exactly. His friends were all dressed in matching navy suits, looking nearly as good as the king himself.

“Yeah. I think I’m ready,” He said softly, taking a deep breath. “Let’s head out.”

The groom’s party made their way down to the beach, making soft greetings to anyone they passed. The sun had come out and broke away most of the afternoon chill, but that didn’t stop the wind from cutting through their suits. Wenjun shivered slightly, but this was the only way he wanted his wedding. And once he got down to the beach, he knew that everything was perfect.

A light purple carpet with white trims lined the beach, white pews located on either side. At the end of each pew, bouquets made from white roses and navy calla lilies were placed there, made by Quanzhe. Wenjun took in a deep breath from the ocean, smiling.

It was time.

Somewhere inside the grotto, a piano began to play, signaling the small gathering that it was time to begin. The people present, mostly people from the castle and some closer noble families, stood as Ronghao made his way down the aisle, moving slowly with a cane at his side. After making it halfway down, Wenjun strode down the aisle and took his father’s free arm and helped the former king the rest of the way down, smiling softly. At the end, Ronghao smiled and went to stand at the front pew, taking out a tissue from his pocket to dab away his tears.

Next was Dinghao, who was acting as the officiant for the wedding. He nodded to Wenjun as he took his place behind the altar, straightening himself out as the groom’s party made their way down the aisle next. Lead by Xinchun, Wenjun’s best man, Quanzhe, Zeren, and Yanchen lined up behind the king, all giving their friend confident smiles.

The next part seemed to shock people. From the water, there was the sound of splashing before several heads were seen popping up. Lead by Xukun, the party of the group made their way to the shoreline, right on the other side of Dinghao, while the other half moved towards where the pews ended right by the water. Behind the merfolk prince was Zhangjing, Justin, and lastly Chengcheng, who now donned a stunning orange tail. There was a slight murmur from the crowd as the supposedly missing noble came up onto the beach, but all that ended when the song began to change slightly. Straightening his back, Wenjun watched as the archway at the other end of the aisle had the tapestry moved back, revealing Wenjun’s partner.

Zhengting looked up, smiling softly as he made his way down the aisle. In his hands he held a bouquet of lavender, roses, and forget-me-nots, made by Quanzhe. Wenjun felt like every breath he had ever taken was immediately caught in his chest as he gazed upon his lover. Dressed in a well pressed suit, it took on a light purple color, much like the color of his tail. His hair was parted to the side and swept upwards, revealing a face that was tinted pink with a natural blush and a nervous smile. Slowly, Zhengting made his way to the altar, standing in front of the merman that lined up by the beach.

Wenjun couldn’t help but stare as Zhengting laughed slightly at the other’s reaction. Dinghao began his speech, the former pirate easily drawing the crowd in towards the couple. The pair didn’t seem to notice though, as they were both lost in their own world, entrapped by the beauty of the other. By the time they got to their vows, Wenjun found himself stumbling to get the paper he prepared, earning a laugh from the audience. Finally pulling it out of his coat pocket, the king cleared his throat as he began to read.

“Well, I had a lot of stuff written down here, but at this point, I feel too nervous to read any of it,” he began with a small laugh. Taking a deep breath, Wenjun continued. “Instead, I’d like to take you to a moment, where I thought that my life was over. Where I resigned myself to death over a broken heart. Where everything around me seemed dull and pointless, as if I was better off literally anywhere other than here. But instead of falling to that fate, the world wanted me to continue living. You see, the world works in mysterious ways, ways that I don’t always understand, but have come to appreciate and love nonetheless.” He paused at this point, taking in Zhengting once more. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, but Wenjun continued.

“When you see this world the same way that I do, you can never see anything else the same. When you wake up with this world, you can immediately tell yourself today is going to be another good day. Because my world is here, because my world is you,” Wenjun’s voice cracked as he ended, tears running down his cheeks. He felt Zhengting’s gentle hand wipe away some of the tears, and was able to make out similar ones in the former merman’s eyes.

“When I was growing up, I always told myself that I was never made for happiness. I always wanted others to find happiness before I found it for myself. I had told myself that I could live through their happiness, through their emotions. Yet, when I got a taste of my own happiness, the last thing in the world I wanted to do was let it go.

“I never knew happiness could strike that quickly or that love could strike even quicker. But now, I’m standing here, right in front of the person who introduced me to both of these things. And to be completely honest? I’m glad that out of anyone in this world, it was you, Wenjun.” Zhengting laughed as Wenjun returned the gesture of wiping away his tears, sniffling slightly.

From his seat on the pew, Ronghao stood up, carrying a small pillow with two intricate rings placed on it. He slowly made his way over to couple, offering it to them. Zhengting smiled and picked up one ring while Wenjun took the other. The former king bowed the best he could, returning the smile.

“You both have my blessing…” He whispered before heading back to stand by his seat, straightening up as best as he could.

“Zhu Zhengting, do you take Bi Wenjun to be your lawfully wedded husband?” Dinghao asked, looking first at the older brunette.

“I do.” Zhengting said loudly, slipping the ring he held over Wenjun’s finger.

“And Bi Wenjun, do you take Zhu Zhengting to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.” Wenjun said with equal confidence, slipping his ring over Zhengting’s finger

“Then by the powers vested in me,” Xinchun’s snort could be heard at that statement, but Dinghao persisted, “I now bid you two officially married!”

At this point, all ceremony was lost as Zhengting threw himself into Wenjun’s arms, pressing their faces together into a deep kiss. There were hollers from their friends until the two pulled away and gazed at each other lovingly, though slightly dazed.

“I caught you now,” Wenjun whispered in Zhengting’s ear, smiling at the shorter.

Zhengting merely let out a joyful laugh, slippining is hand into the king’s. “Only because I let you!” And with that, the couple made their way back down the aisle, laughing and smiling, being showered with flower petals as they made their way towards their new lives, together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, it's over! I can't believe it's actually done though :( This was such a joy to write and I really loved seeing everyone's comments on it as I went along. Truly, they are what kept this going!  
> I'd like to thank two amazing people, Ana and Soph, who helped me a lot with these chapters! They provided great input for me and without them, there might have been a very different story.  
> In addition, I'd also like to thank everyone who joined me on this journey. It was such a pleasure to write for you all and I'm glad that you can enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it :)  
> Cheers and hopefully see you in the Nex7 fic!  
> ~Emilia


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